Feat of Clay
by Lord Goregore
Summary: Azeroth. A world of many noble heroes, mighty warriors, and legendary champions. But not all who come to Northrend are cut from the same cloth. But however they are crafted, the sun rises and falls on them all the same...all bringing a new day...
1. Perchance

_**Feat of Clay**_

Writer's Note: While this first chapter is rated T, the story will switch to an M rating upon the second chapter. The T rating is just so everyone can see it now and make note of it when it starts. So let us start.

* * *

Chapter 1: Perchance

_The paladin was certain that the wind hadn__'__t, and shouldn__'__t, have been blowing as hard as it was. Not from the way the sky had been so clear and the air so calm, moments before he__'__d leapt down from the cliff top and into the filthy snow. Whether clouds had moved in to cover the sun, the paladin didn__'__t know. His eyes were fully focused on what lay before him._

_The ghouls had heard him when he__'__d landed, turning their distended heads towards him. Slobbering growls erupted from their ragged lips, poisonous saliva hissing on the ground beneath him. Talons that could rend flesh as easily as paper ripped from their fingers a moment later._

_The paladin narrowed his eyes, assessing the ranks of the Scourge. Nearly seventy of them._

_At least it wouldn__'__t be boring._

"_Come, vermin.__"__ The paladin said, raising his shining hammer. __"__I shall expunge your disgusting-!__"_

_The leaping ability of the ghouls surprised the paladin, three of them crashing down on him._

_More specifically, his hammer, as the blazing weapon lashed out and battered the Scourge away from the champion of the Light._

"_On second thought, you do not even deserve the usual denou-!__"_

_The four ghouls who had closed the distance were cut down by two blasts of holy power, the paladin finishing the last with a crushing blow to the chest, radiant energies erupting from the weapon__'__s impact and exploding through the ghoul, turning its festering innards to ash and ripping any chance of ANY kind of life continuing in its form._

"_ON THIRD THOUGHT, JUST DIE!__"_

_The paladin waded into the ghouls, flashes of light exploding from the fray with every powerful strike. Despite the numbers, the Scourge fell in droves to his resplendent strength, the paladin leaving a trail of dead-for-good corpses. When it was over, the paladin stood tall, his armor covered in scratches and foul ichors, his shoulders rising and falling,_

_The lich had finally deemed to turn away from its ritual, the sickly blue fulgor smoldering within its skull as it saw the paladin. Said paladin felt the temperature began to drop even more, horrendous cold descending on him even as it began to flow into the lich._

_His answer was to charge._

_The lich thrust out a hand, firing a blast of life-consuming chill._

_The paladin thrust up his free hand, a shield of light stopping the blow and dispersing it to nothing. Despite lacking anything on its features that could have showed expression, the lich still managed to pull off a look of surprise._

_The paladin leapt and brought his hammer down. The lich shrieked as the weapon caved its skull in, and then both it and the paladin were consumed by a massive blast of destroying incandescence._

_When it faded, all that remained of the lich were a few tatters of rotting cloth and a pile of ash that was carried off by the wind. The paladin stood there for a moment, gathering himself before turning around. No more Scourge came to challenge him, and he allowed himself a slight smirk._

"_I thank you, my sword and shield, for allowing me to be so great.__"__ The paladin said, before he turned back and approached the ritual slab. The night elf tied up on it altered being looking stunned, scared, and cold, though considering the torn dress that made up her only means of clothing, it was primarily the last one._

"_It__'__s all right.__"__ The paladin said, producing a small knife that he imbued with holy power, the blade cutting easily through the ropes that bound the girl at her wrists, waist, and ankles. __"__You__'__re safe now. Here. This probably smells something terrible, but it__'__s better than frostbite.__"_

_The night elf didn__'__t complain about the fur cloak, bundling herself into it and looking at the paladin._

"…_Thank you.__"_

"_Don__'__t mention it. Let__'__s get you back to shelter.__"__ The paladin said. __"__My horse is back up on that cliff__…__and you don__'__t have shoes. Well, if you don__'__t want to walk in it, I can carry you.__"_

"_I__…__will see__…"__ The night elf girl said. __"__Er__…__I don__'__t really have any money__…"_

"_Money? For what?__"_

"_Well__…__you probably didn__'__t come out here__…"_

"_I go where I__'__m needed. Per my teachings. By Elune__'__s grace, as you might say. No payment is necessary.__"__ The paladin said._

_The night elf had no reply, but her eyes and her body language said it all. The paladin glanced inward, debating. How long had it been? About two weeks? Well, if the Light was going to bless him with such bounty, he would hardly refuse it._

"_Come my lady, let__'__s be off. We can work out specifies in some place with a fire.__"__ The paladin said, putting an arm around the night elf__…

* * *

_

The sound of the firework going off caused the priest to jerk upward, nearly knocking his empty wine bottle off the edge of the balcony. He blinked a few times before grimacing. He'd gotten too deep into the fantasy.

The laughter and general noise attracted his attention, and he looked down onto the streets of Dalaran. Even here, in the primary bastion of the offense against the Lich King, Brewfest had reached, and said streets were filled with revelers and partiers, taking precious moments from battling unspeakable evil to have fun.

Including a certain and VERY cute night elf. Who, despite having had a starring role in the priest's thoughts, was in reality leaning into the chest of who the priest assumed was her night elf boyfriend. The priest watched them for a few more seconds before sighing again and turning away from it all, leaning against the balcony.

Maybe he needed more alcohol. Or maybe he needed to go to sleep. Or maybe…

Another firework sounded off in Dalaran, and the priest crossed his arms and sighed again. Maybe he should stop deluding himself with brief visions of grandeur. Momentary evasions of what tortured him, even in the case of his 'partners'.

Fel, considering what he was slotting the night elf in place of, maybe he should just get around to diving head-first off the balcony and solve all his problems.

Or maybe he should just admit that even that wouldn't work.

* * *

_**Fantasy. It**__**'**__**s a dangerous thing. It tints your viewpoint on reality, and can make it seem less**__**…**__**wondrous than it is.**_

_**But reality in and of itself**__**…**__**sometimes it cannot satisfy. And for some**__**…**__**it offers little to recommend itself. If anything at all.**_

_**You see this priest? That**__**'**__**s me. My fantasy. My reality.**_

_**This is my story. But before it really starts**__**…**_

_**A counterpoint.

* * *

**_

_The wind howled anew, as it did so much, and so often, over the frozen lands of Northrend. The long cloaks of the stumbling figure did not seem to offer much protection from it, the blowing snow swiftly covering the lost adventurer__'__s tracks as it dragged itself on. Whatever it sought, save escape from the terrible cold, was unknown._

_Whatever had driven it out to begin with__…__was likely the greatest, and last regret the adventurer might have, as the thundering footsteps were loud enough to root the figure to the spot. Turning a cloaked head up, the adventurer stood where it had frozen as the magnataur emerged from the storm._

_How the beast could see so well in the cutting ice-cold gale, who could say. Perhaps it just ignored it, like it ignored the frost on its form. Perhaps it merely focused all its attention on whatever had allowed it to find and track down the figure._

_The wastes of Northrend devoured all but the strongest. For the magnataur, life was eat or be eaten, and it had found its meal for today, as it brought up it__'__s arm and rammed down at the adventurer with its spear-like club._

_The adventurer barely managed to dodge, turning at the same time and taking off, the cloaks flaring from the impact shockwave and the ever-violent winds. How much fear and desperation drove the figure to surpass its natural limits was unknown, but the magnataur was driven by even deeper and more primal urges, not to mention the fact that it had a considerably longer stride._

_The chase was brief, as the adventurer tripped and fell onto its face with a violent crash within the space of twenty seconds. Before it could rise up, the magnataur was on it, seizing its form in one massive hand and dragging it up._

_To the sky, the form shrieked. The noise, however, was not fear._

_It was a word._

"_CHA__'__TER!__"_

_The white blanket had blended in perfectly with the snow, forming just another dismissible lump._

_The raptor that erupted from beneath it was anything but dismissible. Despite the lands beneath its feet being called the Dragonblight, the man-sized dinosaur was about as far away from home as it could possibly get. Runes alit on the beast__'__s red hide, providing it with the heat it needed to operate in such terrible cold, even as it charged headlong beneath the magnataur._

_The magnataur finally made an overt noise, that of a thundering bellow of pain, when the raptor__'__s talons tore into the back of its front right leg, the dinosaur ripping through most of the muscles even as said pain began registering for the Northrend titan. The leg buckled, and the magnataur fell forward, its grip loosening on the adventurer__…_

_The figure broke free with one burst of strength. If the magnataur could have seen within the hood__'__s shadows, it would have seen the small smile that played across the female__'__s face, even as she reached within her robes and withdrew the gun from within. Crafted from carefully interlocked pierces of blue metal, the adventurer set the walnut stock against her shoulder and fired, the bullet exploding from the weapon and throwing the adventurer backwards even as said bullet tore into the magnataur__'__s body._

_The adventurer landed on her back, rolling with the momentum and doing a backwards no-hands springing flip, landing on her feet as she aimed and fired again. The magnataur bellowed and tried to smash his enemy, only to be reminded that the raptor was still beneath him as it tore into his stomach. The massive creature shifted its weight, trying to get his free hand around the vicious creature beneath him, but the hunter was faster, her hands blurring as she inserted a projectile into her gun, aimed, and fired. The tranquilizer hit the magnataur__'__s arm and immediately went to work, sinking fingers of numbness into the beast__'__s muscles. Despite this, the magnataur managed to grab hold of the raptor; said tranquilizing shot, however, kept it from doing much more than tossing it away._

_The hunter got the creature__'__s attention with more bullets, the small but potent shots ripping into the magnataur__'__s body. The magnataur brought his weapon up and slashed it towards the hunter. The hunter leapt as it did, spinning in an arcing dodge over the weapon and firing another shot as she did. Landing on the ground, the hunter rolled and came back up, taking a knee and firing two more shots. Despite all the wounds, the magnataur advanced, bringing up his weapon._

_The raptor returned with a vengeance, leaping up and sinking fangs and claws into the magnataur__'__s side. The colossal hybrid bellowed and turned on instinct, trying to get the savage animal off of him._

_When its hindquarters swung around, the hunter was up and sprinting. With one mighty leap, the female was in the air herself, landing on the magnataur__'__s back and running across its body. Before the magnataur knew what was happening, the female was at its torso._

_It did not fire its gun into the magnataur__'__s spine. Instead, she tossed it high into the air, and with one firm pull, yanked herself up onto the magnataur__'__s shoulders while she reached behind herself._

_The hand-cannons she withdrew, in contrast to its main rifle, were red, gold, and silver. Green light shot down their barrels as she thrust down her arms._

_Burning, agonizing shots erupted from the twin barrels, tearing into the magnataur__'__s shoulders and head. With a final roar, it dropped its weapon to try and grab the hunter._

_The hunter leapt forward as the hands came up, spinning around as she dropped her guns._

_Her main rifle fell into her arms, even as she crashed down onto the snow. With a grunt, she poured all her power into the gun, aiming it directly at the magnataur__'__s now completely-exposed chest._

_The red lance of power blasted a plate-sized hole directly through the magnataur__'__s chest, slicing right through its heart and spine like it wasn__'__t there. The magnataur couldn__'__t even let off a final cry, instead jerking back before collapsing to the ground. The raptor pulled itself free in mid-fall, sprinting away a few feet as the corpse crashed down. When it settled, the reptile looped back and headed towards the hunter._

"…_heh. Chak__'__ken, tubor ri.__"__ The female said, rising to her feet. The raptor nosed at her with a purr-like noise of affection, and the hunter brought an arm up and hugged the dinosaur__'__s head close a moment before gesturing with her own. __"__Dyneese.__"_

_The raptor turned and stalked back over to the magnataur corpse, its jaws shooting out and tearing a lump of flesh from the creature__'__s chest. The dinosaur, despite it__'__s focus, didn__'__t even flinch as the hunter raised its rifle and blew off most of the magnataur__'__s head with one final shot. With the creature__'__s death confirmed, the hunter walked forward, searching the creature__'__s corpse before she came up with the necklace-like length of finger bones the magnataur had in his possession._

"_Suneeri.__"__ The hunter said, looking at the bones before tucking them away. Swinging her gun onto her back, she reached up and pressed on a certain part inside her hood, undoing the magics that kept it up and from being blown back or knocked askew before pulling it down to her shoulders._

_Troll women had something of a bad reputation in certain circles. Whether said reputation was deserved, and how it applied to troll society, most never found out. Whether the troll__'__s soft features and small, almost cute fang-tusks would mark her as unappealing in her kind or not, only the trolls knew, and they didn__'__t talk about such things. By human standards, though, she would have been considered exotically appealing, maybe even gorgeous in the correct light. Her skin was a light blue, in contrast to the darker purple-blue of her hair, which flared up from her scalp before descending into several braids that rested on the troll__'__s shoulders. Wiping sweat from her forehead, the troll reached into her cloak and withdrew a vial._

"_Lok__'__tar!__"__ The troll said, speaking in Orcish instead of her native Zandali. Swinging her head back, she drank from the vial with great satisfaction before approaching the corpse. Magnataur blood made a fine addition to some in-field meal sauces__…

* * *

_

"LOK'TAR!" The orcs and trolls echoed, all raising their mugs and tankards to mirror the action the female troll had told them of. She raised her own and they all slammed them together before consuming the contents, one of the male trolls indicating for the bar maid to bring more of whatever they were drinking.

"_Ga__'__ten, ga__'__tah!__"_ The troll female said, reaching into her armor and producing the necklace of bones, slamming them down on the table as her group roared its approval of her one-woman triumph over her foe. In response, one of the male orcs slammed his fist down on the table, immediately launching into his own story. The troll female retrieved her prize and tucked it away before settling back to listen.

Across the city, from his balcony, the priest watched her. Unlike her contented expression, reveling with companions and the glorious rush of victory, the priest's face could be called introspective at best.

So much had changed…and yet the most memorable parts had not.

When one of the trolls, as part of the most recent drink exchanges, made a clumsy pass at the female, the priest felt his guts clench. The female troll shoved it off, producing more laughter at the table. The priest swallowed, wondering if he should keep watching her or stop torturing himself.

She wouldn't want to remember him. Why would she?

Not everyone was like him.

The priest closed his eyes, leaning on the balcony for another ten seconds before he shoved off, heading inside to his room. Sitting on the bed, he stared at the wall.  
Maybe he should just leave Dalaran.

Maybe he should grow a set (ha, right? NOW?) and just re-introduce himself at the right time. They hadn't exactly parted as enemies…

No. It was ridiculous. All of it was ridiculous, and even more so, in this city that was both united and divided. The priest suspected the divides were far greater than anything that united them.

The story of his life.

He didn't see the troll female glance up and note that he was gone. Her companions did not notice the slight tilt of her head, the moment of her own introspection. When it passed, she returned to her celebration.

The priest, meanwhile, produced a small container and shook two green pills into them, dry-swallowing them before he laid down on the bed.

His sleep was restless, but at least it was empty of the nightmares.

* * *

_**Some people achieve their dreams. Become everything they wanted to be. Are everything in their reality as they are in their fantasy.**_

_**This will not be the case here. Not with me, anyway. My reality is not one many would envy. But it**__**'**__**s mine, even if this particular voice is only mine just for now. Just to tell this.**_

_**My name is Ninos. Ninos Silverstream. Her name is Kaileni, and I think I**__**'**__**ve been cursed to love her.**_

_**Listen to my story.**_

_**Listen**__**…**__**and tell me the truth.**_

…_**please.

* * *

**_

"_I remember black skies, the lightning all around me  
I remember each flash as time began to blur  
Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me  
And your voice was all I heard  
That I get what I deserve_

_So give me reason  
To prove me wrong  
To wash this memory clean  
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes  
Give me reason to fill this hole  
Connect the space between  
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies  
Across this new divide."_


	2. Accounts

Chapter 2: Accounts

Writer's Note: Just to be absolutely sure there is no confusion, the parts written in italics the beginning of chapters form parts of an extended flashback, while the 'normal text' of the story happens in 'present time.' Also, remember that the story is now rated M and hence won't show up on the normal story-listings, ergo you should mark it in some other way. K? Let's get started then.

* * *

_As far as Ninos was able to tell, it had been a bucket of fish guts. Even worse had been the fact that Ninos doubted they were even fresh fish guts._

_That fact, however, was likely splitting hairs. Whatever the specific contents of the bucket, the end result had been Ninos opening the door to his room and said bucket and its contents falling directly onto his head._

"_ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!__"__ Ninos screamed, stumbling around and clawing at his face, first trying to get the immensely foul morass out of his eyes and then out of his mouth. It was during the latter part that he became aware of the laughter behind him. It took him another thirty seconds of spitting and wiping at his face before he had turned to face its source._

"_Oh, wow Goldenstream! Looks like you pissed someone off!__"__ Kaaldan Shadowcurse said. Ninos had had a bad feeling ever since he__'__d met the blonde-haired warlock, mainly due to the fact he__'__d carved the frames for his glasses out of rat bones. Ninos had been quite willing to look past that: just because you were a warlock did not mean you were a bad person. Unfortunately, Kaaldan WAS a bad person, and worse, a banal one. That kept him on the side of the __'__good guys__'__ while allowing him to indulge his unfortunate urges with relative impunity._

_Ninos really shouldn__'__t have been surprised he__'__d ended up the target of said urges. It was the story of his life. He__'__d done his best to endure the snide remarks, the constant belittlement. Some probably would have told him to leave, but Ninos__'__ particular __'__blessing__'__ made that option an absolute last resort._

_That was bad enough, but bad enough was never the last word (or two) for Ninos. Laughing right along with Kaaldan was his girlfriend, also a warlock, named Thyma Cryptstone. Kaaldan__'__s imp, standing beneath his stool, cackled its own merry laughter, as did the few people who were in the Booty Bay inn known as the Salty Sailor. His eyes still stinging with the foul guck, Ninos tried to glare at the couple who__'__d become the current bane of his existence._

"_What__…"_

_That was as far as Ninos got, as he took one step and his feet went out from under him: the mess he__'__d had dumped on him was slippery, as well as disgusting. The laughter erupted with fresh strength, even as Ninos laid on his back and considered not getting up ever again. In the end, he didn__'__t have much of a choice, as he stood up before stalking back over to the warlock couple._

"_What the FEL IS WRONG WITH YOU?__"__ Ninos said. Kaaldan had merely sipped his drink, Thyma in turn regarding the priest with calculated scorn with the one eye she had visible, her red hair done up in a strange style so that one massive bang fell over half her face, the rest of her hair pulled up in a high ponytail behind her._

"_He__'__s been here for the past hour, Goldenstream. He hasn__'__t moved or done anything except drink with me.__"_

"_BULLSHIT! HE HAS A DAMN DEMON! AND IT__'__S SILVERSTREAM!__"_

"_Please! You think I__'__m at his beck and call for stupid pranks?__"__ The imp said._

"_YES!__"_

"_Are you directing an accusation my way, Lightsucker?__"__ Kaaldan said, putting his drink down as his eyes grew intense. __"__Because I don__'__t appreciate it.__"_

_Ninos tried to say something, but the words caught in his throat. Kaaldan smirked briefly at the priest__'__s sputterings before the dark pallor came over his visage again._

"_So then, you want to make an issue of it? Pick a fight?__"__ Kaaldan said. __"__Come on, Goldenstream. If you__'__re going to say something like that, you better be ready to back it up.__"_

"_Please, Kaal. The only backing up Goldenstream does is to make sure he can get behind Rhardoc and all his armor, while we do all the work.__"__ Thyma said. __"__But hey__…__I__'__m sure he__'__s due to actually do SOMETHING besides play nursemaid.__"_

_Ninos tried to formulate a glare, but the desire faltered at the dark looks the pair was giving him. In Thyma__'__s shadow, Ninos could see the outline of her voidwalker servant, even as Kaaldan__'__s own demon thrall cackled at his feet._

"_Well?__"__ Kaaldan said._

_Ninos looked at the warlocks a bit more before turning away, heading for the door out of the inn. A nasty chuckle emitted from Kaaldan as he leaned back and took up his drink. Ninos thought he heard the warlock say __'__Loser__'__, but on that he wasn__'__t sure. He didn__'__t need to be. He was certain the whole bar was thinking it._

_The final nail was realizing who was standing in the doorway. Clad in thick silver armor, his black face partially covered by the metal visor attached to his helmet, Rhardoc Wyvernclaw__'__s opinion on the matter he__'__d likely just witnessed was unknown. Ninos could hazard a guess, though. Rhardoc didn__'__t much like the warlocks himself, but the paladin knew the benefit of numbers, especially in the dangerous jungles of Stranglethorn Vale. But that wasn__'__t all._

_The other part was in the brief moment that the priest and paladin locked eyes. The armored man hid it well, but Ninos could see the disappointment. He could also see what it was beginning to curdle into. The pitying regret. The disgust. The gaze slanting ever downward, until Ninos finally removed himself from the paladin__'__s presence. Perhaps the paladin even whispered a prayer: there but for the grace of the Light, go I._

_It was the same old story. Ninos wondered why he hadn__'__t gotten used to it by now. It__'__d been the first tale in his life since he__'__d actually left the Cathedral of Light to make his way in the world, and for every group and party he__'__d joined up with, it remained the rule rather than the exception. And with Ninos__'__ own exceptions, he had little choice but to accept it. Accept the nonsense of the Kaaldan__'__s and the vilipendency of the rest._

_It wasn__'__t really fair that someone who did their best to keep you alive was treated that way, but Ninos__'__ only experience with fair was with weather and with attractive women that he could never work up the courage to talk to, if they weren__'__t among his critics. Ninos wanted to say something to the paladin, something along the lines of __"__The cowardice of omission is nevertheless cowardice.__"__ The priest also knew if he tried, all that would come out would be something lame or whiny. In the end, while trying to shove the twisting knot of his feelings deep into his gut, Ninos pushed past Rhardoc and made his way out onto the walkways of Booty Bay._

_He__'__d tolerated the stares and occasional snigger of the people he passed by as he made his way down to the water. He__'__d dealt with the frustration of trying to figure out how to properly lean over the docks so he could wash himself._

_Then a little bit of the guck had fallen onto the dock from Ninos__'__ shoulders, and the priest, while shifting his position, had placed his knee on it at the wrong angle. The end result was a face-first plunge into the Booty Bay waters._

_At least it got the mess off of him. Though from the way the nearby goblins were laughing as Ninos sputtered his way to the surface, part of him kind of hoped that sharks would come along and eat him to save him the trouble of his continued existence._

"…_hey! You all right?__"__ One of the goblins had said after stopping his laughter. Ninos sighed inwardly. At least they weren__'__t laughing at his misfortune. They were just laughing at the pratfall, the most neutral form of mockery you could express, when it came down to it. Goblins hated to do anything that could cost them potential customers, after all. A lot of Azeroth didn__'__t like them for that fact, but Ninos found it comforting. You could almost always tell what assessment a goblin would make of you. Half the time, that tended to be followed by an attempted fleecing, but Ninos ignored that. Being thought of as a sucker was better than most things people thought of him._

"_I could be BETTER.__"__ Ninos managed to snap._

"_Well, yeah! Probably!__"__ The Goblin said, walking to the edge. __"__Come on! I__'__ll help you up!__"_

_Ninos had taken the offered hand without consideration. Despite his size, the goblin seemed more than strong enough to help Ninos up onto the dock._

"_You okay?__"__ The goblin said._

"_Yeah yeah.__"__ Ninos replied, wringing water out of his robes._

"_Good! One silver, please!__"_

"…_what?__"__ Ninos said._

"_Hey, labor doesn__'__t come free you know!__"_

"…_Of course.__"__ Ninos said, fumbling for his money pouch and tossing the goblin a coin._

"_Heh heh! Glad I could help!__"__ The goblin said. __"__Hey, you wanna buy a clothes dryer fan? It__'__s a steal at three gold!__"_

"_No. I__'__m good.__"__ Ninos said, walking away._

"_Your loss!__"__ The goblin said, flipping the coin in his hand as he walked off._

_Ninos didn__'__t return to the Salty Sailor, and not just because Kaaldan and Thyma were still there. He__'__d come to another decision._

_It was the kind of decision that, in its birth, one would say that it should have been made long ago. Time would then almost inevitably affirm why it hadn__'__t._

_Trying to prove his companions wrong in their assessment about him was a lost cause. Not without some source of evidence. The group Ninos was a part of had been participating in several missions over the last few weeks, and the current one was providing various ingredients to an enterprising goblin (though what goblins WEREN__'__T enterprising) who was trying to create a new form of food preservation. They__'__d collected all the scales, bones, blood, and mold he__'__d wanted, save one item: he__'__d requested a bag of Goldthorn. The group had put said acquiring of Goldthorn off until tomorrow, having worn themselves out trekking through the jungles and dealing with hostile Bloodscalp trolls the previous day. Annoyed by the way Ninos had screamed when said trolls had ambushed them from a tree (which hadn__'__t been THAT loud), said group had insisted Ninos buy the map which actually marked where the best places to look for the herbs were._

_The map that Ninos still had, and intended to use._

_In retrospect, he really should have calmed down. Even if he could have accomplished something in the path of action he__'__d decided on, the way he__'__d went about it had been less-than-smart. Unfortunately, Ninos had been pushed to one of his rare states of defiant temper, where he swore that he would finally buckle down and address all these issues that had caused him such grief over his life, starting with whatever he felt was immediately important. For Ninos, that had been getting the Goldthorn by himself._

_Said defiance had lasted all the way during his trip out of Booty Bay and the brief ride up the semi-forged path through the jungle, and long enough beyond that for him to get off his rented horse, send it back to Booty Bay, plunge into the green wilds, and start traversing them with a keen eye and ear, for both the Goldthorn and any dangers that the priest thought could befall him._

_The moment it had died was when, after twenty minutes of forward travel, Ninos had realized that, in his haste and temper, he__'__d been holding the map upside down._

"…_Ohhhhhhh netherspit.__"__ Ninos said, slowly turning around, looking at the jungle that suddenly seemed a whole lot darker. Faint noises that Ninos had initially dismissed now seemed considerably louder, and the concept of lurking presences now seemed a lot more overt. Ninos felt the sweat on his brow grow cold, drawing a finger of ice down his back._

_The animal in his stomach was waking up, ready to go screaming through his veins and nerves. The problem was, this time Ninos didn__'__t have a walking pile of armor or people who could blow stuff up by looking at it to hide behind. He was completely on his own_

_(as he__'__d chosen)_

_And if something happened, no one would be coming to help him_

_(nor would they miss him)_

…_so if there was ever a time for him to keep his head, now was it._

"…_.okay. Okay.__"__ Ninos said, trying not to hyperventilate. __"__All I have to do__…__is go back the way I came. As long as I__'__m careful__…__I should reach the path. The sun__…"__ Ninos said, looking up. __"__Is in its setting phase, so__…__I follow it that way and it will lead me to the road. Then I can__…__Hearthstone, HEARTHSTONE!__"__ Ninos said, pawing at his belt-bags. He had managed to pull out the magical bauble just in time to realize he__'__d used its charge to send his horse back to Booty Bay. __"__FUCCCCKKKKK!__"_

_Ninos clenched his fingers around the rock, debating whether he should just wait for its power to rebuild and use it to warp his way back to the safety of Booty Bay (well, as safe as the place got, but it was better than any random patch of Stranglethorn jungle). The sudden loudness of the immediate noises returning made Ninos decide against such a tactic. Whether moving would be more of a risk than standing still, Ninos didn__'__t know, but the concept of moving struck him as better. Hopefully he wouldn__'__t be proven wrong. Fel, he__'__d already been shit on enough today. Maybe the world would be nice and he__'__d be able to find his way back to the road without the use of the Hearthstone, which would allow him to use it to summon his ride and get home quicker. Though he__'__d gladly walk home, as long as he found the road._

"_Okay, okay__…__you can do this Ninos__…__just put__…__one foot__…__in front of the other__…"__ Ninos said, beginning to walk forward. He took a moment to transfer his small mace to his left hand to wipe the sweat off on his robes, and then he continued onward. No matter how poorly (many) people thought of him, he wasn__'__t some farm boy tossed into some mystery location who needed instruction on how to pick his nose. He had been blessed with great powers by the Light, and he hadn__'__t been dragged into the adventuring world of Azeroth kicking and screaming. He__'__d wanted to give back something to the world that had, as cruel as it was, kept him from several fates that were far crueler (maybe). And it wasn__'__t like he__'__d just arrived in Stranglethorn the previous day: he__'__d been wandering around it (albeit never alone) for the good part of a month._

_None of that took away from the difficulty of the task, mainly due to the blade that was running along Ninos__'__ nerves. Stranglethorn was a location were death could come from anywhere, and even those who had the greatest amount of respect for it were guaranteed nothing. Then again, he__'__d chosen to walk. All he had to do was do so._

_And keep both eyes peeled for any indication of a threat (like say, the incredibly nasty plant life that gave the jungle its name, though you could usually spot those by looking for inexplicable piles of bones), along with both ears. Neither of which were optimum for such a task, but Ninos already had enough reasons why he wanted to curl into a ball and hope he__'__d magically wake up in his inn bed._

_Just one foot__…__in front of the other__…__just one foot__…_

_The cracking noise that sounded beneath Ninos__'__ feet was unlike anything he__'__d ever heard. Later, he__'__d reflect that he__'__d done his best. He__'__d watched where he__'__d been going, and had been more than alert. The trap was just that well hidden. He__'__d never had a chance._

_At the time, though, Ninos__'__ thought process had been along the lines of __'__Did I just step in a bowl of cereal?__'_

_The priest__'__s yell echoed around the trees as the snare seized Ninos__'__ ankle and yanked him up off his feet, leaving him dangling upside down by one leg. After a few seconds, Ninos almost burst out laughing: had he wandered into a poorly written adventure novel penned by a wannabe Nesingway? After a few more seconds, relief settled on Ninos that the trap he__'__d triggered hadn__'__t swung a bed of spikes into him. Or dropped him into a pit of spikes. Or activated a hidden launcher that impaled him with a spike. Or let a dog out of a cage that happened to be named Spike._

_After a few MORE seconds, the fear came roaring up. He__'__d set off a trap. Traps were NEVER good if you weren__'__t the ones setting them. Staying in the trap was bad. He had to get out. Where was his mace? He__'__d dropped it. He didn__'__t have any knives. How could he get the rope off his ankle? Son of a bitch, that was starting to hurt. Could he burn the rope with the near-nonexistent skill he had with his abilities? Damn, his robe had fallen over him, he couldn__'__t see a damn thing__…_

"_Interesting meal we have here, hunter.__"__ A voice said, nearly in Ninos__'__ ear. The priest felt every single muscle in his body go cold._

_The hand that lifted his robe gave Ninos half a second to see the gun-butt being swung into his face, and before Ninos could summon the Light to protect him, the darkness descended.

* * *

_

Northrend.

It was about as far away from Stranglethorn Vale as you could get, both in direction and in design. At the core, though, both places were exactly the same. They devoured everyone but the strongest, smartest, and luckiest, and they both hated Ninos Silverstream.

Then again, both places probably had 'hated' a lot of adventurers, living and made dead. Ninos, however, only had his own point of view.

At the moment, said point of view seemed to be a downward direction caused by a swift plummeting to his death.

Ninos really didn't know what issues the Knights of the Ebon Blade had with him. It could have been the fact that he was still breathing, the fact that he was a priest in service to the Light, or the fact that the Knights struck Ninos as the type of people who could smell weakness and found that Ninos reeked of it. While they were hardly the first to come to that conclusion, Ninos generally had to travel with nearly all those other people and have his unfortunate issues come out despite his best efforts. The moment Ninos had landed at the Shadow Vault, having taken a simple mission to deliver some crates, he'd found virtually every member of the renegade Scourge forces giving him sour or dirty looks. The notion that they did this to everyone had swiftly passed when a Draenei shaman had arrived with some ore she'd fetched for the forces: they'd treated her with neutral respect. The constant, unflinching scorn had finally caused Ninos to find a dark corner to throw up in, an act that he thought he'd managed to keep hidden.

If he had, the Knights must have disliked him even more than he'd realized. The Draenei had taken the living gryphon Ninos had ridden there when she'd left for wherever she'd gone to, forcing Ninos to use one of the Ebon Blade's re-animated gryphon skeleton constructs to get back to Dalaran. In truth, Ninos had not wanted to do so, but in the end he'd wanted to hang around the Shadow Vault even less.

Apparently, the Knights of the Ebon Blade not only wanted Ninos gone, but for him to never come back, as the gryphon skeleton abruptly lurched drunkenly to the side during the tail end of the journey. Fortunately, Ninos had been so bothered by the bizarre transport that he'd kept a firm hand on the reins and had directed every bit of attention he'd had on the transport, rather then the thinking or pondering he generally did on more normal flying mounts. If he'd been on one of those, the lurch might have tossed him right off the saddle.

"Whoa!" Ninos said. "What's going on?"

The gryphon construct had no reply, including in audible terms. It just continued to fly forward for another several seconds before it lurched again, jerking to the opposite side of the one it had just gone.. Ninos opened his mouth and got a mouthful of dust as part of the gryphon's bone wing broke off.

"Oh shit." Ninos said, looking at the ragged end of bone that was now protruding from the gryphon's shoulder. True, the fact that said gryphon-construct had been flying the whole way until then without anything that remotely resembled the proper wing-design for flying made it pretty obvious the wings were purely ceremonial, but Ninos doubted the fact that the wing had abruptly broken off meant anything but the obvious. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Ninos pawed around in his robe for his Healthstone. In retrospect, he probably should have just used it back at the Shadow Vault…

The gryphon jerked again. Ninos had prepared for that. He had not prepared for one of his reins to snap off, causing him to partially lose his balance. He grabbed at his saddle's pommel to steady himself…and in the process, literally tossed his Healthstone into the air. Ninos could only stare in numb shock as it plummeted to the ground far below.

"…oh please NO." Ninos whimpered.

An odd rattling noise sounded beneath Ninos, and the priest looked down, not knowing just what was going on but having _far_ too good of an idea…

A flash of light caught on the edge of his vision as he looked down, and the priest snapped his head back up to see Dalaran appearing in the distance. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ninos looked back down at the gryphon construct and back up at the floating city.

"…come on! Just a little further! Stay together! Come on!" Ninos said, pointing at the encroaching city. "You can make it! Come on! COME ON!"

The Gryphon seemed to listen a few seconds before Ninos felt the bones beneath him begin to wilt, like the skeleton had abruptly become stricken with rot and Ninos was sinking into its osteology. The priest jerked his head back down, wondering if he should try and heal the gryphon skeleton. Whether that would do anything or…

With a odd whistling noise made by the wind shrieking through its frame, the gryphon skeleton abruptly jerked to the right, its direction changing drastically. Which meant, of course, it was no longer flying towards Dalaran.

"NO NO NO! BACK THAT WAY! THAT WAY!" Ninos yelled, pulling on his one rein with desperate energy. After a few seconds, the gryphon began to turn back towards Dalaran…and upwards in the process. Ninos barely noticed that fact as the city began to finally close in, the priests' mouth going dry with every foot the distance shrank…

The Gryphon's back left leg broke off, followed swiftly by the front of its beak, the bridle going with it and yanking the reins from Ninos' hands. A bolt of pure terror ran through the priest…

Then the distance was closed, and the gryphon skeleton was flying over Dalaran proper. Relief flooded Ninos…for approximately one half of a second.

Then he realized that he'd missed the general landing spot of the magic bastion. And was about forty feet _above _any other possible one.

With a crunching grumble, the head of the gryphon fully broke apart.

"Eeep."

The body went to pieces in mid-air, gravity immediately seizing Ninos and pulling him down. Ninos closed his eyes and prayed, calling on his power.

The Light answered, surging through his soul and emerging from his body, covering it in a protective barrier. Like a shooting star, Ninos came down onto the city of Dalaran.

Unfortunately, his shield couldn't do anything about his momentum.

Ninos crashed down onto the roof of the building he'd landed on, ricocheting off in a violent 'pond-stone-skip', his form tumbling helplessly before he hit the roof again, the impact smashing through every cell in his body. The second 'skip-ricochet' was less powerful than the first, but all that did was keep Ninos from clearing the gap between the two buildings he'd reached. Instead, he fell into the space between them, crashing against the opposite wall and bouncing off to hit the wall on the other side, his shield dragging against the wood and stone all the way down. It didn't slow Ninos' fall, as he hit the alley floor with a loud, dull crash.

For several seconds, the priest lay there.

A cough finally brought movement back to his form, and Ninos sat up, hacking on the dust a few more times. The shimmer around his body faded, leaving just the pain of the considerable bruises the priest had. Despite it, the priest uttered a slight, quiet laugh.

"…Thank you Light." Ninos said, feeling at his body. No bones seemed to be broken. As horrifically unpleasant as the fall had been, Ninos' shield had kept him from being reduced to paste, something it likely would have been unable to prevent had he fallen a thousand feet down to Crystalsong Forest. "I will…do my best…to pass on your blessings…to others…as I always have…"

Having confirmed he hadn't broken anything, the first thing Ninos did was check his right primary finger.

The ring with the green gem remained there. Ninos felt around it despite that fact, further relief settling on him. He would have gladly suffered broken arms, legs, or whatnot, as long as the ring was safe. He could fix those, as unpleasant as that process would have been. The ring, however, was irreplaceable: of all the money Ninos had made during his travels, at least a quarter of it had gone towards having the ring constantly enchanted and set with carefully cut micro-gems in its band and attached to its stone. The end result was a piece of jewelry with considerable magical power, though Ninos had not so prepared the ring for that purpose. Many people had told him that there were far better, or at least cheaper, ways to acquire that kind of bijou, but Ninos didn't care. They wouldn't have understood anyway. Fel, they probably would have used his reasons as more ammo to mock him.

With the ring confirmed, Ninos checked the rest of his person. After ratifying his money, weapons, and the other items he carried were still with him, Ninos placed his hands on his chest and relaxed. The Light came to his call again, drifting through his body and soothing his battered muscles and bones. The healing process only took a few seconds, and that was mainly because Ninos took his time. Healing, in a way, was a pleasant process, and Ninos didn't really have much of that in his life.

Some fresh dust settled on Ninos' head, and he coughed loudly, wiping at his eyes. When he'd finished, he opened them to finally notice the faint beam of light streaking in front of him.

"…henh?" Ninos said, following the beam of light to its source: a small hole in the wall. Based on the pattern of damage on the wall, Ninos guesstimated he'd been the one who had made it via his shield. "Huh. I guess someone's gonna be cold in a bit."

A faint touch of guilt poked Ninos' mind; the priest sighed and adjusted his position. Might as well see what he'd opened up…

The priest, after poking around the hole a bit for safety, leaned up and put his eye against it.

What he saw inside made him rear back so quickly he nearly banged his head against the opposing alleyway wall. The sight, however, was anything but bad. Blinking once, Ninos leaned back and placed his eye against the hole.

He hadn't somehow imagined it. The light wasn't emitting from a bedroom, or something like a kitchen or a storeroom. It was, in fact, a shower.

A communal shower.

A female communal shower.

The last part took a few more moments to register, but became brutally clear when the orc woman fully came into Ninos' field of vision. It was a Horde female communal shower.

Ninos, it seemed, had fallen into the Sunreaver Sanctuary.

Ninos opened his mouth before closing it , keeping his reaction to himself: _holy shit!_ The shock of the full confirmation, however, again caused Ninos to pull away, blinking a few more times. He'd gone from one dangerous situation to another.

A tiny part of Ninos' mind yelled at him to get the fel out of that alleyway. The Horde and Alliance had hardly gotten along well since the Wrathgate and the Argent Tournament, and Ninos knew that they REALLY hated having Alliance members in their section of Dalaran. He suspected that they'd like finding him 'hiding' between their buildings even less. And that was without the hole Ninos had inadvertently created and what it showed. He suspected the Horde would think it was anything but _inadvertent_.

In a rare occurrence for the priest though, the rest of his mind was more interested in the visceral aspects of the situation he found himself in. Wiping dust off his face, Ninos leaned back in to take another look.

No angry eye peered back at him. The Horde women in the shower remained completely unaware of their new 'guest'. In the back of his head, Ninos wasn't much surprised the Horde had a setup like this. The Alliance did as well, for males and females; Ninos had used it a few times. The design inside even seemed nearly identical, though the part of Ninos that noted that was so small that it was nearly non-existent. The other sights were FAR more interesting.

The blood elf that Ninos had originally spied (and initially mistaken for a human) remained in sight. The creatures, as haughty and cruel as they were reputed (often truthfully) to be, were also renowned for physical attractiveness. The blood elf lived up to it, with perfect creamy skin and golden-blonde hair whose ends were tinted red. The water from the showerhead above her ran down her small, pert breasts and lithe legs, the blood elf in the midst of rubbing soap on her arms. The one next to her had darker hair and had her back to Ninos, soap running down her back and toned buttocks as she washed her hair. And while the pair had been who Ninos had initially seen, a better look revealed that there were several other Horde women in the room, all engaged in the usual tasks one performed in a shower.

The only missing Horde 'race' was Forsaken: Ninos had heard that due to their unique condition most didn't bathe. While most Alliance men would likely have just looked at the blood elves, Ninos was not them. He took in the whole room, appreciating it all. The orc women may have been green and far more muscular, but all of them also had pronounced busts and incredibly well-curved hips, and two of them actually had faces that Ninos would dare any man to call ugly. It probably helped that the Horde women all wore contented looks of relaxation and camaraderie, chatting and laughing with their fellows as they cleaned themselves under the water. There was also a Tauren woman, but Ninos only spared her a brief glance before he decided the bovine female was not to his tastes. From what he took in, though, with the tauren's lovely-even-while-wet fur and own notable attributes, he could see why those who did care for them had their reasons…

The troll woman slipped in from the side, and Ninos felt his gaze settle on her.

The troll was saying something in Orcish, but lacking a translating glyph, Ninos couldn't tell what. Her skin (or rather the immensely fine and soft fur that many people mistook as skin) was a unique shade of gray, dusky yet vibrant, and the muscles rippled up her long legs as she walked partway across the room. A unique tribal pattern had been traced on her stomach and ran up her torso, encircling and flaring out across her breasts before merging back together to trace up to her shoulder. Her face, however, would likely have been said to 'not match': it was, in the most glowing terms, harsh, the troll's pair of small tusks arcing outward from her jaw in opposing curves. When the troll reached out and touched one of the orc woman's shoulder to ger her attention, though, and the orc replied with something that made the troll woman laugh, said 'unattractiveness' melted away, the mirth shining in her expression and her body language, beautiful and unbelievably erotic…

Ninos jerked his head away from the peephole, shame finally burning its way onto his face. He couldn't do this, shouldn't have. Even if they were enemies, this was a horrific violation of the women's privacy. He'd run out his grace period of curiosity and hormones, and he had to get out of there (preferably before some Horde noticed him, or worse, the WOMEN INSIDE NOTICED him…)

Yet he returned, looking upon the troll as she dabbed liquid soap onto her hands and began washing her hair as well, chatting with her orc friend, the water running across her body, outlining her curves, trailing between her legs…

The water was half of what Ninos recalled most often. The other had been the unique feel of her mouth, between the touch of her lips and the firm pressure of those unique carnassial features, her skin and its fine fur slick beneath his hands…

"Ugh." Ninos whispered, pulling away and putting a hand to his face. "No. No no no no no…not any more. This is bad, this is wrong…not many would approve."

Ninos forced himself up, smoothing over his robes and trying to calm his nerves and his blood. After several seconds spent doing that, he walked away from the peephole. He'd have to atone for his act somehow, some kind of penance. He hadn't survived his fall so he could spy on Horde woman, as attractive as he found most of them. Not that most Alliance women didn't have their own set of exotic appeals, but Ninos had spent most of his time with them and was more used to them. Then again, he probably would have watched them with-MIND OUT OF THE DAMN GUTTER SILVERSTREAM.

Better yet, he should be getting out of the Sunreaver Sanctuary. Or he might literally end up in the gutter. Quite possibly with his throat cut.

Ninos peered out onto the streets of the Sanctuary, trying to spy any of the blood elf guards who patrolled that area of Dalaran, or any Horde at all. The streets, however, were strangely quiet, something that was even stranger considering Brewfest was still ongoing. Perhaps the members of the Horde had partied too hard and had picked that night to sleep it off, or maybe they all just had tasks and missions to attend to. Ninos wasn't going to ask any more questions than that, as he slipped out of the alleyway and began making his way through the streets, trying to stick to the shadows.

Actually, considering it was Brewfest, the smartest thing to do if he was spotted was to put on a drunk act. The Horde, whether guards or 'freelancers', might react more with disgust than anger if they found a supposedly-intoxicated member of 'the enemy' amongst them, and could just settle for throwing or warping him out (as the Sunreaver Guardian Mages like to do to newcomers to Dalaran who didn't know 'the rules'). Then again, they might decide that his supposed-inebriation was a prime opportunity to inflict violence upon him…but Ninos doubted that would change if he was sober. The best option, of course, was to not get spotted at all and run past the mages stationed at the entrance of the Sanctuary…

And really, considering the sheer racket he'd made crashing into Dalaran, why HADN'T anyone come looking for him? Maybe the whole city WAS trying to sleep off a hangover…

The voices reached him just before Ninos turned the corner, and he paused, trying to slip into the darkness and 'slice the pie' peer around said crossing. He recognized the unique wet rasp that the voices had. Forsaken. Just his luck.

Said luck, however, did not seem to be bad. There _were_ Forsaken, three of them, but they were all facing the wall of the building across the street from the corner, their attention focused on whatever they were doing. Ninos couldn't quite tell what that was, but he didn't want to wait around long enough for it to pass. Slipping around, he began rapidly skulking across the street, his heart pounding in his chest.

The Forsaken never looked his way.

Ninos, however, looked their way when he heard the breaking glass and the yowling of the cat. Said yowl was immediately followed by the Forsaken laughing, even as Ninos stared helplessly across the street.

"Oh, what's wrong kitty? You don't want a drink?" Forsaken 1 said.

"Yeah! Rude to refuse our hospitality!" Forsaken 2 said, which made 1 and 3 laugh uproariously again. The cat hissed violently, its striped orange fur fully extended off its body as it tried to project the image of strength to the undead that surrounded it. Why the feline actually seemed cornered by the three undead, Ninos didn't know. Maybe the cat knew something he didn't.

"I don't think it cares for us, my friends." Forsaken 1 said. "Maybe we should teach it some proper respect!"

"Or maybe we should show it the hazards of being alive." Forsaken 3 said. From the mishmash of leather armor all three wore, Ninos hazarded a guess that all three were rogues. Perfect. Not all Forsaken were bad, and not all rogues were bad, but Forsaken rogues tended to have pretty high odds of being bad. Ninos hadn't met any that had broken the trend, anyway.

"Here kitty kitty…" Forsaken 2 said, producing a vial from his belt. "I have a lovely treat…like catnip but be-"

The loud crash of the trash can being overturned was more than enough to get the Forsaken's attention. Anyone with such knowledge of such things would have admired how the three rogues reacted. They didn't jump, or start; they CONTRACTED, muscles going from amused callousness to fire-when-ready alertness, all of the rogues drawing daggers as they turned around. The cat seized its opportunity and took off; one of the rogues jerked his head towards the movement and even made a show of starting to go after the cat, before ultimately stopping and returning his attention to the noise maker.

"…What have we here?" Forsaken 3 said. Now that they were facing him, Ninos could fully take in their features. One (who was actually Forsaken 1) had a mop of yellow green hair and a nose that looked equally parts rotted and squashed across his face. The second (Forsaken 2) was nearly completely bald, the only hair he had blue-green and pulled back in a slimy ponytail, unpleasant looking boils scattered around his eyes and neck that stood out again his gray skin. The last (Forsaken 3) had pitch-black hair that erupted from several seemingly-random points on his head, combined with a heavily boned forehead and a jaw that was stained black against his wound-purple colored skin. From the way he stepped forward, Ninos figured he was the leader.

"…MEAT." Forsaken 3 said, anger and loathing entering his voice. Ninos swallowed, dimly aware that he was still holding the trashcan he'd knocked over's lid in his hand.

"In the Sanctuary? Not smart." Forsaken 1 said. It might have helped Ninos to have their names (which were Sume Talonfist, who had just spoken, Rithdo Scarcraft, who was Forsaken 2, and the leader, Forsaken 3, whose name was Kragoth Grimgrin), but there was no logical way Ninos could have known that. Much like he couldn't have known that the Knights of the Ebon Blade had not intentionally tried to kill him: the undead Gryphon constructs they used as mounts required frequent arcane/rune procedures to stay 'alive', and the Knights had a stable full of them. Said applier of treatments, a death knight named Upir Darkfog, had been doing so when a Scourge attack had commenced; Upir had run off to aid in the defense and, upon returning, had forgotten precisely where he had left off. His best guess had caused him to skip one of the gryphons, who had been promptly directed into Ninos' hands by whatever cruel force hated him.

Ninos did know, however, that the Forsaken would have hurt that cat…and the priest couldn't allow that. Even if it exposed him, and all that entailed. Spying on naked Horde woman was one thing, but walking away from anything that needed help, especially when it was helpless…

That was just not done.

"Since when are THE MEAT smart?" Kragoth said, stepping forward and hooking his primary hand in his belt. With the immediacy of his decision finished, Ninos felt the cold fingers clawing down his back again from the looks the Forsaken were giving him. He was outnumbered, outgunned, and he wasn't really in the mood to be a moral victor. Moral victors often had to deal with interesting problems like trying to find all their teeth with one eye.

Ninos opened his mouth, trying to say something. What he wanted to do was to alternately flatter and insult the rogues, tell them they were wasting their time and their likely-immense skills by tormenting a cat, challenge them to do better, to do something to make their new lives worthwhile to have.

"We're all meat." Was what came out. The rogues stared for a second before glancing at each other, before promptly bursting into laughter again. The cold nails dug deeper: Ninos had heard enough laughter directed his way to recognize the difference between amusement, mockery, and the recognition of weakness.

Kargoth promptly demonstrated that he was in the last camp by abruptly jerking forward in a fakeout, expecting Ninos to do something along the lines of screaming like a girl. Something to draw further amusement from before he and his friends got down to the REAL business of fun.

Ninos DID scream, but it didn't really sound like a girl.

He also hurled the trash can lid directly at Kargoth. The rogue probably could have dodged or deflected it…if he hadn't indulged in six flagons of fine ale that night and had one hand tucked into his belt.

The lid made a low, hollow _THUNK!_ as it slammed directly into Kargoth's face.

Ninos suddenly felt like all the air had been sucked out of the street he was on. Kargoth reeled back briefly, his two companions staring at both him and the priest in stunned surprise. Ninos stared back, even as the claws raked down his spine before digging into his legs.

He'd done it again. He'd made people not like him. This time, however, was a _real_ winner. The Light frowned on Peeping Toms, it seemed.

Kargoth lowered his hand, the look in his glowing visage having gone from torture to straight-out murder. Like a switch, his two companions immediately took on the same look.

"…Sorry?" Ninos offered.

The snarling bellow of Gutterspeak that Kargoth emitted made it pretty clear that yes, Ninos was going to be very sorry.

Fortunately, Ninos had a perfect reply. Best of all, no verbal component was required. Just a certain degree of kinetic function Ninos had long ago become an expert at.

In other 'words', he ran for his life.


	3. Night Terrors

Chapter 3: Night Terrors

_Sleeping in the field was never fun, and not just because Ninos tended to get the short end of the stick on tent positions. Even the best bedrolls often couldn't compensate for the lumps and the cold of most of the ground that ended up being used as sleeping quarters; Alliance adventurers mostly just endured it as part of the job. Ninos, at least, had avoided some of the worse rest scenarios he'd heard of. Like sleeping up in a tree._

_A good thing to avoid, as the feeling of bark sinking into your back was among the most potent experiences (in a bad sense) one could become aware of when one woke up. Ninos spent several seconds in his fog bemoaning the unpleasantness of it before more of his senses returned and he became aware of a few other things._

_Like the memory of how he'd gone into the darkness._

_And the fact that as well as the hundred fingers of jagged wood digging into his spine, there was also a constant sensation of hot air on his face. No, a constant __**repeating **__sensation to be precise, coming and going, coming and going…like a…_

_Ninos blinked his eyes open, his vision swimming as more of the world returned. The priest became aware of more things: that he was standing up, that his robe and shirt had been removed…and that his hands were bound in front of him. There was also a shifting mass of red in his blurred gaze._

_The raptor, as if it was timing it, managed to growl just as Ninos' vision finally cleared to reveal its scarlet form, the dinosaur standing directly in front of him. Ninos tried to recoil from the raptor's fanged visage, only to find that his head had no real place to go as it banged into the tree behind him. The only fortunate thing was that the distance between the tree and his head was short enough so the blow just hurt instead of knocking Ninos out again. The priest goggled at the raptor, which continued to glare daggers at the priest in turn, its lips slightly parted to reveal the mass of deadly teeth within its jaw._

_Ninos, after a bit, somehow managed to take his gaze away from the beast to look down at himself. As he'd felt before, his hands had been crossed and bound tightly at the wrist before him, with another rope having been wrapped around the tree to press Ninos' bound arms against his chest and actually tie him to said topiary. Another rope was wrapped around his ankles, insuring that his lower half was as firmly snared as his upper._

"…_ahhh." Ninos said. The raptor made no sound, continuing its menacing gaze for a few more seconds before it ducked its head._

"_AH! AH!" Ninos gasped, feeling the raptor's hot, dry nose prod against his bare stomach. With his hands tied the way they were, Ninos was completely helpless if the dinosaur decided to have his internal organs as a meal. "Nice dinosaur! Please go away!"_

"_Oh look. The trouble's awake." An accented female voice said. Ninos tried to follow said voice with his eyes, not wanting to move his head and irritate the raptor. Despite the tunnel vision of the dinosaur nosing at his guts, Ninos managed to see what lay beyond it._

_The camp site looked about the same as any other from Ninos' experiences, but the figure rising from the fire did not. Dressed in red and brown leathers save around her face, the female orc turned her head towards Ninos as she stood. Her face was probably the closest thing that the orcs had to be considered 'dainty', and even then every line of it was filled with the aggressive ferocity that so defined the species. She had several gold rings in her long, tapered ears, a pair of small upward fangs jutting from her jaw, and a 'split-Mohawk' hairstyle done in a crimson-purple color. Ninos couldn't really tell if her expression indicated she was amused, annoyed, aggravated, or some precise mix of the three as she approached the restrained priest._

_Ninos placed the voice as she approached. It was the same one that had spoken in his ear before he'd been knocked out._

_The raptor turned away as the orc closed in, a deep growl emitting from its throat. The orc glanced at the dinosaur, her brows knitting in irritation._

"_You don't get to eat him yet, animal. Shoo now."_

_The raptor semi-snapped and semi-barked at the orc, who put a hand on her hip, standing her ground. After a beat, the raptor padded past the orc and headed back into the campsite. Ninos watched it go for a few moments, which allowed the orc to get right in close when he turned his eyes back to her._

"_Hi there." The orc said. When Ninos opened his mouth to answer, he abruptly found a dagger placed lengthwide into it, the deadly-sharp blade digging into its edges; in turn, Ninos' eyes went as wide as saucers._

"_No talking. I dislike your tongue, and will cut YOURS out to avoid hearing it."_

"_If you do 'dat, he'll probably end up makin' a lot more noise 'dan he would udderwise." Another voice said. It was also female, and unlike the orc, its accent was far more pronounced. The speaker had been at the edge of the campsite when it spoke, walking in with an armful of kindling wood. The leathers she wore had some green mixed in with the red and brown of her companion, and she also wore a large dark-green cloak that was draped around her shoulders. At the time, Ninos had only really noted that she was a female troll. "Really, Dakhuna. Do we halfta be so aggressive out dat gate?"_

"_If you really understood how Alliance scum works, you'd either be commending me on my restraint or over here with your own knife." The orc named Dakhuna said, before turning back to Ninos. Ninos looked at her with terrified eyes, something that the priest was pretty sure caused a ghost of a smirk to cross her face._

"_You wasted us a trap, human. Well, in terms of a meal. But you…you're far more valuable. Not every day we catch a spy."_

"_Mmmwhm?" Ninos slurred, his giant eyes blinking._

"_You know, it's probably gonna be harder to do dis dat way, Dakhuna." The troll said, walking over by the fire and picking up a canteen to drink. The raptor trotted over to the newly arrived female, its body language changing from hostile to caring as it nosed at the troll's arm. The troll patted the raptor on the head, putting down her canteen and reaching her three-fingered hand into her belt, popping something into the air from it with a thumb flick. The raptor shot its head out, seizing and eating whatever had been tossed._

"_I've conducted interrogations before, Kaileni. I know what I'm doing." Dakhuna said, not looking at the troll._

"_We so sure dis a spy? He don't look like much o' anything." The female troll, Kaileni, said as she strolled over. The closer range revealed her soft, appealing features, though Ninos did not notice them in anything save the barest sense. He was too busy trying to both sink further back into the tree and prevent his heart from breaking right out of his chest._

"_That's what they do, Kaileni. They present one face and hide their true one until no one's looking. A society built on treachery and lies."_

"_Really? He a poor liar den. He look more like he about to cry." Kaileni said. "Come on now, Dakhuna. Take de knife out of his mouth. Don't want him panic-vomiting and choking to death, do we?"_

"…_you spoil my fun." Dakhuna said, but she listened. Ninos winced as the blade came away from his face, the corners of his mouth still aching from its initial presence._

"_Hey, you da one tryin' to teach me to be practical girl. You good teacher, what else I say?" Kaileni said, cocking her head as she regarded Ninos. "Now then…what we gonna do with you?"_

"…_let me go?" Ninos offered. Kaileni sniggered and began opening her mouth before a look of sudden worry crossed her face._

"…_how did you know what I just said?" Kaileni said. "I be speakin' Orcish, so is she! How did…?"_

"_Look at his shoulders, Kaileni." Dakhuna said, having walked back over to the fire. The raptor had moved at her coming, heading across the camp and glaring at the orc. The orc didn't seem to notice or care. "Those are magical etchings. Specifically, ones that translate our language. For him, and for us."_

"_What?" Kaileni said, pulling in close to Ninos to examine the black designs on his skin. "Why would…why…"_

_The dark look that had descended on the troll's face when she pulled herself back made Ninos feel sick to his stomach. Any quarter she'd been willing to give him was rapidly fading…_

_Unless he took it back._

"_I got that in Booty Bay! Neutral, might need it, I'M NOT A SPY!" Ninos babbled._

"_What? I been to Booty Bay, mon. We don't mix enough for sumtink like dat to be practical. Neither does your story." Kaileni said._

"_Okay, maybe not often, but we do and…okay, okay! It's to make sure Horde don't plot against us!" Ninos said. "But I'm NOT a spy! I just went looking for some Goldthorn and fell into your trap!"_

"_Uh huh." Dakhuna said, poking at the fire. Kaileni glanced at her companion before looking back at Ninos._

"_I dunno, Dakhuna. Maybe he be lying, but…not really getting dat." Kaileni said. "You think a good spy not get caught. Or at least, not blubber like baby in his protests."_

"_I'm not…!" Ninos said, before he swallowed it. Any sense of pride would get him nowhere here. "I'm NOT a spy. Just please…let me go."_

_Kaileni laughed, though at least there wasn't any nasty tones in it._

"_He want to be let go." Kaileni said. "He tink based on his word alone we untie him and shake hands 'fore parting. We didn't drop him on his head when we cut him down, did we?"_

"_Wouldn't make much difference." Dakhuna said._

"_Look…miss…troll…?"_

"_I be Kaileni, though you not earned dat name." Kaileni said, the smirking good humor coming back into her face. "You can call me Eminence, I like dat word, and make sure you do it well."_

"…_My…eminence…lady…" Ninos said. "I'm not a spy. I can't serve any purpose for you. If you untie me, I'll go and that will be that."_

"…_if you tryin' to work voodoo, mon, it piss-poor." Kaileni said. "You wanderin' around Stranglethorn all by your lonesome…look at your body. Ain't seen a fight in its life. You either an idiot, or someone who good at not getting hit."_

"_I'm a priest, the Light has granted me the ability to heal…!"_

"_Oh really? Well, it didn't really serve you well here, did it?" Kaileni said, before patting Ninos on the face. "So, what we doin' Dakhuna?"_

"_I don't see how things have changed." The orc said._

"_Maybe not, but…I not feelin' it." Kaileni said, turning her head to face the orc. "Even if I wrong, well…we got his money and tings. Why not just leave him here to whatever he deserves?"_

"_NO! NO-!"_

"_Shattup." Kaileni said, cuffing Ninos on the ear. "Really, Dakhuna, why go to all the trouble?"_

"…_trouble…deserves?" Dakhuna said. _

_Ninos wouldn't have believed it before, but the tone in the orc's voice and the new tension in her body language somehow made him even more scared. Whatever Kaileni had said, she'd stepped on something._

"_Let me tell you what the Alliance does, hunter. What it really is." Dakhuna said, still looking at the fire. "When the Second War ended…maybe the Alliance should have killed us all. We were the enemy, they didn't know the circumstances of how we'd been manipulated…and I could have understood that. Some of the Alliance were up-front on that desire, but the rest said no. Instead, they rounded up us and put us in their camps. Had us labor for them like slaves. Watched us sink into the fog of our curse with a certain smirking satisfaction. All that, as much as I hate it…I can also understand it. The Nether knows that if we'd won…we'd probably have done worse."_

_Kaileni had gone quiet, and despite himself, so had Ninos. Though the troll hunter's powerful blow to his head probably had something to do with that._

"_But we'd have been truthful with such acts. The Alliance…they tried to act like they were more than just the people who'd defeated us. They tried to act like this so-called mercy forever made them superior to us, in every single way. That they were so just and kind and good and special, so much better than us savages…that was what they said. And when no one was looking…" Dakhuna said. "In that corner of the Loch, away from everyone who probably wouldn't have cared…they claim to be so much better…and all the while, they did everything they could to avenge the past and their losses. The need for that I understand, but their never-ending, delusional HYPOCRISY, of claiming to be so much BETTER…and all the while they starved us, beat us, humiliated us…and…and all the true cruelties…"_

_Dakhuna didn't speak any more, and when that became clear Kaileni turned her face back to Ninos. Her eyes had grown cold._

"…_might wanna start prayin', mon. Prayin' loud and hard."_

"…_wait, WAIT…!" Ninos said as the troll walked away. "I didn't do ANYTHING to ANY orc! I'm INNOCENT!"_

"_Maybe dat be the saddest part. Their actions robbed you of your innocence." Kaileni said, heading to the fire. "What you wanna do?"_

"_Well…he keeps claiming he's not a spy. I have a pretty surefire way to separate truth from lies." Dakhuna said, reaching into the fire._

_Ninos' eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head when the orc lifted the dully-glowing metal rod out of the flame. The orc looked it over, even as Ninos began furiously struggling. The ropes absorbed all his efforts._

"_You sure about 'dat, girl?" Kaileni said, regarding the heated metal. "How does dat make you better den what the Alliance did?"_

"_My actions have a point, a purpose. That's all that difference." Dakhuna said, standing up._

"…_wait, WAITWAITWAIT!" Ninos yelled as the orc began to approach him again, her features set in a look of dull determination. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY FOR WHAT THEY DID! IT WAS WRONG! IF PEOPLE HAD KNOWN THEY'D HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES! YOU WERE RIGHT! THEY WERE WRONG!"_

"_Too many days too late, dog." Dakhuna said._

"_I'M SORRY! I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A CAMP IN LOCH MODAN! I'M NOT A SPY! OH PLEASE LIGHT, NO! __**NO!"**__ Ninos screamed as the orc closed the distance, the heat of the poker sinking into Ninos' skin. In the background, Kaileni had been watching the orc approach, her raptor having walked over to her. The dinosaur let out a snort, before Kaileni took its head and turned it away, turning her back to Ninos and Dakhuna as well._

"_Screams mean nothing in the end, Alliance." Dakhuna said, raising her weapon of choice. "Nothing does."_

_Whatever their worth was, the screams shattered even the general noise of Stranglethorn Vale.

* * *

_

"What I don't really understand is this strange obsession with perfection that seems to run through them all." Sermak Brightsaber said. A blood elf guardian mage, he was nearing the end of his 'period' guarding the entrance of the Sunreaver Sanctuary, and the minutes had seemed to be dragging into hours an hour ago. Finally, to try and get through his remaining time without going mad, he'd struck up a conversation with his fellow guard, one Vethelot Rainbowlash.

"Well, if you're going to send these people out to acquire items for you, one should expect a certain quality." Vethelot said.

"Yes, that makes sense, where it would apply, which is NOT often." Sermak said. "If you're asking them to retrieve, say, furs, I can see where one would have to kill more than the required number of animals to collect enough skins in good quality. But many of these requests make no sense. They ask people to go out and collect, I don't know, ten wolf teeth. Wouldn't you just have to kill one wolf to get all the teeth you need? Do wolves all have one special tooth that had to be isolated and carefully plucked from their jaw? Do not all wolves have these teeth? How can you tell them apart? Better yet, with the level of intelligence I've seen them demonstrate, how could the average wanderer do so?"

"Believe me Sermak, that's why I took up working for the vanguard rather then seeking fame and fortune on my own." Vethelot said. "Well, actually I decided that when I killed a giant spider and found that it had a bow on him. Strangest thing. I was killing it for venom, but it had a bow on its back. I couldn't find a single reason HOW that arachnid had a bow…"

Ninos tore out of the Sunreaver Sanctuary at top speed, passing between the blood elf guards. Said guards blinked for a few seconds before they turned their heads to follow the priest, who was running into the center of Dalaran.

"Was that a human?"

The three Forsaken rogues sprinted past the blood elves in turn, hot on Ninos' heels.

"Those were definitely Forsaken." Sermak said. "…I forget Vethelot, what exactly does our task entail?"

"We're to keep Alliance out. Alliance is out." Vethelot said.

"Well, yes…but what if he stole something? Or planted some device built by one of those rodents the Alliance calls their fellows?"

"Then it might do us best if we went inside to investigate rather than join in with that footrace." Vethelot said, turning to enter the Santuary's entrance.

"True, true. I'd hate to start sweating so late in the day. So…it was a bow?"

"String was even intact. That just made it WORSE, really…"

* * *

Much like a lot of his life, what had previously worked for Ninos had abruptly turned against him. The Sanctuary streets had been oddly quiet, but so was the rest of Dalaran, robbing Ninos of any aid he was going to get in regards to his problem. Alone again, naturally.

Ninos tried not to inwardly bitch too much over the fact. He still had to get away, and based on the angry yells behind him, the Forsaken trio wasn't going to make it easy for him. Ninos, fleeing into Runeweaver Square, took a moment to glance behind himself…

He picked the perfect time to do so, as it allowed him to see the Forsaken known as Sume Talonfist in mid-throw of the knife he'd drawn.

Ninos felt the blade whistle over his head as he ducked, the priest having turned back around to do so…

Which let him see the Runeweaver Square fountain roughly half a second before his legs slammed into its edge, pitching Ninos off his feet and into its coin-spotted waters.

"HE'S MINE!" Rithdo Scarcraft yelled, leaping up and diving onto Ninos' semi-submerged form. Sume immediately followed his companion into the fountain, and the dark waters vanished into thrashing figures. Kargoth, on the other hand, drew up short before drawing a dagger, trying to pinpoint his target.

Several seconds passed before he realized it, even as Sume and Rithdo emerged from the water, clawing, punching, and grappling…each other.

"HE GOT AWAY!" Kargoth yelled. "YOU TWO! KNOCK IT OFF!"

"But I almost have-huh? Sume? What are you doing here?" Rithdo said, even as his fellow Forsaken pulled himself out of his grip.

"YOU IDIOTS! HOW THE FEL DID YOU MAKE THAT ERROR?" Kargoth yelled.

"Hey, it was hard to tell Kargoth! I thought for sure I had him!"

"You thought? YOUR EARS STILL WORK! SINCE WHEN CAN THE LIVING SPEAK PERFECT GUTTERSPEAK?" Kargoth yelled, utterly furious that his two 'friends' had not noticed that fact.

"Wow, that's mighty discriminatory boss." Sume said. Kargoth almost punched his companion before his eyes spied the movement of the figure that had swum around and pulled itself out of the fountain, retreating from the Square through another exit.

"GET OUT OF THERE! GET HIM!" Kargoth yelled, giving chase once more, even as Ninos' soaked form did its best to continue fleeing. Fresh sweat mixed with the water on his forehead as he dashed through another of Dalaran's streets before veering off and heading into the commerce exchange, frantically hunting for the first open door he could locate.

* * *

"Ah, a busy day. It shall give this even more flavor." Ranid Glowergold said, as he pulled out the plate of cheese and wine a kind-hearted adventurer had brought him earlier. For a moment, Ranid debated locking up, then decided his food could come first.

That likely saved him from being bowled over when Ninos crashed through the semi-open door of the shop. It did not save the dwarf leatherworker's food when Ninos jerked his head around, spied the dwarf and his meal, and ran over before seizing up the cheese.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU…!"

"SORRY!" Ninos tossed over his shoulder even as he tossed the cheese down the ground in front of the open door, the not-exactly-fresh dairy product splattering onto the floor in an unpleasant smelling, slippery mess.

Kargoth Grimgrin, however, was not so focused on his prey that he didn't see this. Unfortunately, he'd just put on a burst of speed.

His efforts to stop prevented him from hitting the cheese and sliding across the room into the stairs. It did not prevent him from losing his balance upon hutting the cheese and crashing down onto Legendary Leathers' floor.

"FUCKING…!" Kargoth snarled as he got up…just in time for the frantically and more-blindly following Sume and Rithdo to crash into his semi-risen form and send all the Forsaken down into a pile. Ninos had been running as soon as he'd seen the impact start, twisting out the door and fleeing back onto Dalaran's streets…

Kargoth yanked himself up from the pile, drawing his dagger with one smooth motion and sending it spinning through the air.

Ninos experienced what felt like a hard tug of the left side of his head before a sudden rush of hot wetness exploded from it. The blast of pain that immediately followed made his knees lock up and caused him to fall onto them, even as his eyes caught a faint hint of movement to his side and front. In dull shock, Ninos looked at the piece of flesh lying on the ground off to his side. The Forsaken had sliced his ear clean off.

"Believe me meat, I'll…" Kargoth said, mostly to himself as he stood up.

Sume also tried to stand up as the Forsaken spoke. He, however, stepped on the remains of the cheese and immediately slipped again, his lashing foot catching Kargoth in the back and propelling him face-first into the wall next to the door. The crash of noise snapped Ninos out of his shock, and he somehow managed to grab up his ear and find his feet again, running back through the Exchange even as he fought through the pain and the exhaustion.

Kargoth and his allies emerged a few seconds later. They needn't have hurried: the blood falling from Ninos' mauled head left a path an idiot could follow. Kargoth, however, was quite eager to follow up his blow with many others, and with a general yell of sadistic revenge he again gave chase, his allies with him every step of the way. He quickly spotted the priest again, the distance between them narrowing with every second that passed. Deep satisfaction swelled in the Forsaken's chest: maybe he couldn't kill the human, not without serious consequences, but Kargoth had plenty of tricks that would make him long for death…

Ninos vanished from sight, having turned into an arch; Kargoth yelled at his two companions to put on a final burst of speed. The three reached the arch, dashing through the passage it overlooked…

A slight bloom of recognition flared in Kargoth's mind as he entered into the area beyond it. Wait, had he just…

The blast of magic stopped the Forsaken dead (so to speak), the arcane energies exploding at their feet and knocking them backwards on their rears. Snarling in his fury, Kargoth sprang up like the cat he'd wanted to torture, drawing his knives.

Several staffs aiming at his face made him rethink the action, all of them in the hands of none-too-pleased looking high elves. A final stab of pure malevolent rage crashed into Kargoth's brain as he realized just where the human priest had fled: into the Silver Enclave. Whose guards, it seemed, were considerably more alert that night then the Sanctuary's.

"Leave now, undead." The high elf called Braedin said, his magical abilities translating his Thalassian into what the Forsaken heard as Common. "Or we will be more forceful in our efforts to expel you."

"This is not your issue, mage!" Kragoth said. Ninos, while not cowering, was very definite in his position behind the several high elf mages, the Forsaken rogue stabbing a finger in his direction. "It lies solely with him!"

"You will not take it up here. Now. LEAVE." Braedin said, his staff glowing with energy. Kragoth set a withering glare on the priest beyond the high elves, his companions once again mirroring the expression.

"Do not even BEGIN to think this is settled, priest." Kargoth said, turning around to leave. "I do not forget, and I have never, _will_ never, forgive."

Ninos watched as the Forsaken took their leave, and only once their forms had disappeared did the pain in his head become greater than his fear. Ninos looked down at his severed ear before carefully holding it up by his head, calling on his power.

The soft, gentle sensation of the Light replaced the pain, even as the tissues bonded back together and closed up, Ninos feeling his body resettling before his full range of hearing returned. The Light flowed down and soothed, in turn, the pain in his shins.

The good feeling faded as Ninos realized Braelin was looking at him now, and none too kindly.

"…Thank you my good mage…"

"We are not your babysitters, human." Braelin said, his voice far from kind. "I don't know what issue you raised with those corpses, but it's not our job to settle them."

"I…" Ninos said.

"Be quiet. I don't care for the details." Braelin said. "Remove yourself from our presence, and know that if you attempt this again I'll throw you out with the Forsaken or whoever else might be chasing you."

"But I…it was…I…" Ninos said, before finally falling silent beneath Braelin's gaze. "Okay…yeah…I'll just…be going…"

Braelin kept his disapproving look on the priest as he turned and walked up the stairs, heading for the Silver Enclave's connection with the Hero's Welcome inn. Ninos could feel the eyes on him all the way. A familiar feeling, and one that, while better then the Forsaken's intentions, was about as far away from fun as one could get.

"…yeah…high elves…what do you expect…" Ninos said, trying to comfort himself as he made his way into the Inn and towards his room. At the very least, he hadn't lost his key during the chaotic events of the past fifteen minutes. He also hadn't relaxed enough to go without checking that his balcony was empty and his door was firmly locked.

Pulling his soaked clothing off, Ninos laid it onto the furniture in his room to dry before he toweled himself off. Putting on his lone spare pair of pants, Ninos sat down on the bed, pondering the wall.

His lone pleasant sight of the evening just made the emptiness of his room more apparent. Ninos, however, was in no mood to torture himself any more. Getting out his medicine vial, Ninos shook two pills into them and swallowed them down.

No bad dreams came that night, but the flashes of silken fur and a murmured, accented voice were almost as cruel.

* * *

Across Dalaran, another solitary figure kept her own vigil. Having seen what she'd set out to see, Kaileni was now deep in thought, her fingers and thumb steepled and placed gently against her face.

"…still haven't changed dat much, have we Ninos. Still da lonesome soul." Kaileni said. "…see what we can do about dat. Maybe. Maybe…"


	4. Broken Mirror

Chapter 4: Broken Mirror

Writer's Note: Sorry for the delay, constant readers: between real life and Cataclysm, I haven't been as good to you as I should be. However, I return with good news: I now have a new editor/Warcraft lore expert, Mythiene, who will be working with me to smooth over my rougher edges. Let's continue for now, and hope my pace picks up again.

* * *

_The noise of the cries was overwhelming, so loud they could probably be heard miles away._

_They had not, however, been produced by Ninos Silverstream. He had not yet gotten the chance. They had instead come from beyond the camp site, __just before Dakhuna could begin applying her branding iron to the priest__'__s tender flesh. Unlike what Ninos would have made, they were not sounds of fear and pain; they were roars of primal rage and single-minded, murderous intent._

"_PUNY THINGS! KILL MAI__'__ZOTH! NOW PUNY THINGS DIE!__"_

_Dakhuna locked up as soon as the sound rolled over her, as did Kaileni. Scarlet the raptor, however, sprang into an attack position, issuing a snarling roar of its own towards the source of the noise._

_The ogre that emerged from the trees was at least eleven feet tall. Its skin was the usual jaundiced yellow color most ogres seemed to be, the epidermis slick with sweat and some sort of unpleasant greenish-red muck that Ninos was unable to identify. The ogre wore little more than a loincloth of vines and skinned animal hides, save for a small piece of shoulder armor that barely fit on the giant__'__s frame; in his hand, a great sword was awkwardly clutched, the two-handed (for a normal-sized adventurer) weapon not quite transitioning well to a sword or dagger for the ogre. Its bellowing cry echoed across the clearing again, as it, having fully sighted its targets, began its stampede towards the Horde women and their prisoner._

_Kaileni took a few steps back, her stance clearly speaking of surprise and alarm._

_Dakhuna, on the other hand, merely emitted a low chuckle, reaching into her waistband as she stepped away from Ninos._

_The dagger throw was not super-quick: Ninos was clearly able to watch the orc rogue take aim and wind up before she tossed the blade through the air. _

_She made up for her lack of speed__by being insanely precise: the dagger flew across the campground and directly into the ogre's mouth. The ogre's roar turned into a gurgling gasp as its feet tangled up on themselves and it collapsed onto its face. Ninos'__s__ wide eyes allowed him to see the dagger point sticking out of the back of the ogre's skull. It was not enough to let him see that it was the same dagger that the orc had been menacing him with earlier, but that detail was superfluous in the end._

_So was, in a way, the ogre being so quickly dropped. It did not lessen the encroaching thunder._

"_He brought friends wit' him!" Kaileni said. A moment later more ogres emerged, different in size and attire and weaponry, but all sharing the same hostile intent._

"_There they are!__"_

"_Crush them! Break them!__"_

"_MAKE SUFFER!__"_

"_Ah, good. Friends,__"__ Dakhuna said, nonchalantly putting her hand to her neck and pulling up the material pooled around it. Two seconds later, the orc had a hood over her head and a length of dark blue fabric covering her mouth. __"__Wouldn__'__t be very interesting otherwise.__"_

_The charging ogres were briefly halted by the similarly-charging raptor; it tore towards the brutes with a shrieking cry that overlaid even the ogre's united clamor. The attack, however, was purely distractive, as the raptor leapt into the air and then drew itself up short, darting back and away from the ogres as they stopped in surprise. But while the dinosaur distracted them with its feint, the huntress went into motion, taking a large step towards the campfire and sliding out her foot…_

_The foot found what it sought, slipping under the troll's gun and kicking it up into the air._

_The troll's hands were not as graceful as her feet, her cool maneuver sliding into an awkward fumbling as she tried to grab the gun in mid-toss and failed to do so. The gun began to fall, but Kaileni lunged forward to try a second catch. That worked out better, the troll managing to grab up her gun and turn her forward momentum into a kneeling stance as she planted her firearm against her shoulder._

_The shot lanced out, tearing through one of the ogre's knees and causing it to lose its balance. Shocked out of their brief hesitation, the ogres immediately began charging again: in response, Kaileni slashed her fingers along the length of her gun, and energies glowed along the barrel. The spray of needle-like projectiles that came from the gun flew high, striking the ogres in their chests and faces and causing even more confusion, the ogres' attempted recoils and dodges causing them to get tangled up with each other. The domino effect rapidly escalated into most of the ogres tripping over or knocking the others down; only two of the barbarous creatures kept their bearings._

_The raptor rushed in again, weaving around the mass of fallen ogres and closing in on one of the still-standing in a flash. The ogre yelled and swung his stone club at the dinosaur. All that ensured was that it was only partially gutted instead of completely, the agile reptile both dodging the blow and lashing out in turn with the terrible claw on its left foreleg. It sliced through skin and muscle and into organs beyond as the ogre shrieked in pain._

"_Scarlet, shetan, shetan!" Kaileni called, dashing to the side and into the nearest tree. The raptor mirrored her move, sliding into the forest and rapidly disappearing despite its vibrant coloring._

_Meanwhile, Dakhuna was half-running, half-slinking forward towards the campfire. Arriving at the scattered array of items around it, she reached down and seized two more knives. __Knives that were a lot bigger and meaner then the one she'd pulled on Ninos._

"_Heh heh heh… victory, or death…" Dakhuna said, __pondering the blades a moment before tossing one into the air and catching it behind her back. __"Death," she decided, and then vanished into thin air. The ogres, freed of their attackers, immediately began to pick themselves up, confused by the abrupt cessation of hostilities. Spying movement, one of them looked across the campground. Ninos, by some sixth sense, was alerted out of his struggle for freedom by the ogres' attention, jerking his head up to look at the angry beasts._

"_Um…__don't mind me! I'll be on my way in a moment!"_

_The snarling roar they gave him in answer made it very clear that despite Ninos's words, or the fact that he was tied up, they really didn't plan to, or have the capacity to, make distinctions._

"_Oh nutbunnies," Ninos said._

_The priest was saved from the need to break out more severe language when Kaileni shot one of the ogres from the tree she was now perched in, the creature's head erupting in a shower of blood as a ball of metal punched a giant, ragged hole in it. No sooner were the remaining ogres turning towards their newly-slain comrade than Dakhuna reappeared, her knife flashing out and driving itself into an ogre's stomach. With one sickening wrench, Dakhuna carved open a four-foot hole in the ogre, the giant crying out in agony. Dakhuna did a whirling dash and leapt up, propping herself onto another ogre's shoulders and bringing a small, weighted bludgeon down on the ogre's skull._

_Unfortunately, this was the rogue's first mistake, as her planned stun-and-stumble move had not properly accounted for how thick and dense some ogre heads could be. The ogre's swing at the rogue missed, but she landed amongst the massive creatures, who all promptly tried to smash their attacker. She vanished among a cloud of dust._

"_Dakhuna!" the huntress cried, taking aim and firing weak but rapid shots into the ogres. All that managed to do was break two of the creatures off to charge her tree. Cursing in her native tongue, Kaileni sent another charged shot of arcane energies towards one of her attackers, but this time her aim was off, and the attack glanced off the ogre's bulk. It did not cease either of the creature's forward strides._

_Scarlet the raptor, on the other hand, did considerably better when she flashed out from the trees, leaping up and sinking her teeth into the side of the ogre's throat. The attack caused the ogre to veer off and fall, both it and the raptor going down in a tumble. The second ogre persisted, reaching Kaileni's tree and lashing out with its axe. The strength of the ogre nearly cut the tree down in one fell swoop, and Kaileni was only saved from tumbling out by dropping her gun to grab on. The ogre roared and tried to pull its axe free, only for the tree's ravaged frame to hold it firm; Kaileni took the precious seconds this bought her to reach for her belt, hurling a small canister she'd extracted into the ogre's face. It exploded into stinging smoke, driving the ogre back, but the motion caused Kaileni to lose what little grip she had, tumbling down and landing in a heap at the tree's base. A last-moment roll kept the agonizing ogre from stumbling over her in its thrashing, but it didn't help her in regards to the remaining ogres now turning towards her._

"_E'chuta," Kaileni said, her eyes darting around. Then she broke for the campsite, the ogres hot on her heels. Scarlet did what she could, rushing towards the ogres, but this time the ogres stood their ground and forced the dinosaur back._

_Kaileni dashed past the tree Ninos was tied to, the priest jerking his head to follow and then immediately jerking it back towards the pursuing ogres._

"_Oh please no."_

_For once, something went Ninos's way: the ogres ignored him and continued their pursuit of the troll. Ninos blinked a few times at this fact, then tried to turn and see behind his tree. The fact that he was tied to it quickly made him realize this was pretty much impossible._

_After another second, he finally realized that Dakhuna hadn't taken the poker she'd been planning to use on him with her. She'd dropped it at his feet. Better yet (in a sense), it was still glowing red hot, having burned away the few pieces of grass the metal had come to rest on. Magical tweaking, most likely, because trying to heat up metal effectively with a normal campfire would have been immensely difficult otherwise._

"… _Okay… come on…!" Ninos said, trying to twist his foot into position. Fortunately, his captors hadn't removed his boots, which allowed him, with the minimal movement he could do given his bonds, to step on one end of the poker, briefly driving the heated end into the air long enough for Ninos to slide his boot under it. Before it could burn through the hide of his shoe, Ninos yanked his foot up as best he could, and much to his surprise, managed to get the dull-red metal onto the rope around his shins in one try. Thin wisps of smoke drifted up as the brand burned through the fibers, and Ninos was again reminded that he really didn't want to have it applied to his skin._

_The rope giving way distracted Ninos from the sounds approaching behind him just long enough that he nearly had a heart attack when Kaileni returned, dashing past the tree, her body now soaked with sweat. The crashing rumble of the ogres made Ninos press back against the tree as they stormed around it in turn._

_Dakhuna made her return with suitable dramatics, phasing into existence and nearly cutting one of the ogre's feet off in the twin-bladed slash she fired off. The ogre went down and sent most of the ogres behind them crashing down in another heap. Dakhuna rolled away, black blood dotting the ground beneath her as she did; apparently she had not escaped the ogre dog-pile unscathed._

"_COME ON, YOU PIECES OF SHIT! I'LL SERVE UP YOUR GUTS TO YOUR SPAWN!" Dakhuna yelled._

"_Dakhuna, please don't get swarmed again!" Kaileni said, dashing for her rifle._

"_Like FEL," Dakhuna said, zipping in and stabbing an ogre in the throat, then whirling away before any of the remaining ones (there were now about seven, Ninos noted in a small corner of his mind) could retaliate. Having retrieved her gun, Kaileni sprinted over and climbed into another tree, cocking her rifle as she settled down into her new perch._

"_Speaking of which, what the fel are Mosh'ogg ogres doing here? We're MILES from their territory!"_

"_I guess some of them got lost!" Dakhuna said, before disappearing into thin air as an ogre came for her. Jerking around, the ogre found Scarlet instead, the raptor returning with a dramatic leap and giving the ogre a face and chest full of long, curved talons. Another ogre got introduced to a green flash of burning light that struck it in the shoulder; it bellowed as the emerald energy shot down his arm, causing his hand to seize up and drop its weapon._

_That was the last detail Ninos paid attention to, the battle degenerating into chaos in his peripheral vision as he turned his attention back to the poker. Getting it on the first ropes had been hard enough, but the next trick he had in mind would be harder still._

_His lone advantage was, with the rope that had bound his legs to the tree removed, he had a greater range of motion; specifically, just enough to twist and wrench around until he got his arms free from the rope tied around his upper body. Without his arms pressed in front of him, Ninos had more slack, albeit not enough to move around the tree, kneel down, or slip out of the rope, not to mention his arms were still tied at the wrist. His hands were free, however._

_He just hoped that he could still do what he had to do without all the advantages his staff and magical clothing provided him. Or else…_

_Ninos stopped thinking about it. Every second he delayed was another second the ogres or his captors could notice him. He had to get out of here. To do that, he had to get free._

_To do that, he had to slide his foot under the poker again and, with his greater range of motion, kick it up into the air and into his hands, much like Kaileni had tried to do earlier with her gun._

_Somehow, Ninos did it on the first try. That fact surprised him enough for the heated metal to sear his hands, making the priest cry out and nearly causing him to drop the poker. He hadn't been stupid enough to grab it at its burning-red end, but the whole piece of metal radiated heat. Dakhuna had been handling it with gloves, after all. The heat sank its fangs into the tissues of Ninos's hands for a few painful seconds. Finally, and before it made him drop it, Ninos brought his protective abilities to bear, shielding his hands and arms from the poker as best he could, even as he struggled to turn it around. After a dozen frantic seconds, Ninos finally got the heated end onto the rope between his wrists, feeling more daggers of burning pain drive into his arms as his minimal shielding failed to hold off the immensely hot metal. Ninos did his best not to breathe through his nose, not wanting to smell his own flesh burning…_

_The rope gave way far easier than Ninos had expected, so easily that Ninos almost dropped the poker in surprise, again. Fumbling with his now-fully-free arms, Ninos turned the poker in more and held it up against the final rope; the fact that he could now bear down on the rope made the final burn last less then five seconds. With one last jerk, Ninos was free._

_It was a good thing that Ninos decided to look up after he'd gotten out of the ropes instead of rubbing his wrists or acting pleased with his successful escape. It let him see the half-blind ogre that was charging at him._

"_AHHHH!"_

_The ogre really didn't know what he was attacking: the powder Kaileni had released into his eyes saw to that. He'd just sensed movement and gone towards it, and that probably saved Ninos's life as the ogre swung out with his axe. Ninos felt pieces of bark hit his back as he ducked, scrambling forward before the ogre managed to locate him, crawling a few feet and then finally gaining a vertical base again. He glanced over his shoulder…_

… _to discover the ogre, unlike the first time, had not gotten his weapon stuck in the tree. Worse, it had not lost sight of the blurred motion that made up Ninos to it, and it apparently didn't want to lose Ninos either as it charged with a snarling, guttural roar._

_Ninos didn't have time to look at where he was running. He just ran._

_Unfortunately… that meant he ran directly into the chaos of the battle. If he'd had a breath to spare, not to mention anything resembling composure, Ninos would have commented on how the day kept improving._

_Instead, he just ran, arms and legs pumping. A flash of light, mixed with an ogre roar, was followed immediately by an ogre stumbling into his path, hand clutching a bloody knee. Ninos ducked to the left and slipped around the monster. The priest's pursuer just ploughed right through his companion, knocking him down and exposing him to a fatal case of knife to the eye, even as Ninos ran on. A log reared up beneath his feet; Ninos jumped over it and kept going. Much to his dismay, a glance behind him saw the ogre just kick the makeshift bench aside instead of tripping on it. A glance in front of him revealed the tree that was expanding to fill his vision._

_In a split second, Ninos debated whether to run around it…__or something else. In a snap decision that had little to do with rational thought, Ninos went with the something else._

_The tree lacked the bark Ninos remembered his childhood in Stormwind, but it was similar enough. His clawing fingers found handholds, and Ninos shifted his momentum from forward to upward, just enough, to pull himself up the side of the tree. After a few seconds he stopped his climb, just short of the lower branches, swinging one leg up to brace himself against the wood__…_

_The ogre charged headlong into the tree as Ninos jumped, throwing himself off at an angle to avoid the mass of the giant humanoid. The priest hit the ground and immediately rolled__, springing back up as the ogre staggered back and finally collapsed. Ninos snapped another glance at the fallen creature, then turned back to the still-raging conflict before him._

_He was not stupid enough to run directly through it again. Instead, Ninos began darting around it, trying to find a good place to hide. He was loath to run off into the jungle without weapons, clothes, or supplies: there were about twenty things Ninos could think of off the top of his head that could befall him if he did so that were worse than ogres and Horde combined…_

_The fact that the ogre had no concept of subtlety saved Ninos from being ambushed, but knowing that the new creature had started coming up behind him and doing something about it were two wholly different things. He turned to see the giant form lunging for him and stumbled backwards with a yelp._

_Scarlet came completely out of nowhere, pouncing on the ogre from behind and driving it down into the ground, the ogre's face making a sick crunching noise as it impacted against an unfortunate rock. Eyes wide, Ninos watched the raptor literally shift and raise a foot, stomping down on the ogre's head once more and producing another nauseating crack._

_Then the raptor looked up at Ninos, and his eyes went even wider._

"… _Wait, no no no…!"_

_Letting out a low, growling hiss, Scarlet went for Ninos, and Ninos turned and ran for it. He'd made it several feet before he realized that there was no way in the Nether he was getting away from a beast clearly trained in how to run down foes… and was so terrifyingly smart that it grasped the concept of a coup-de-grace. Not to mention his only fleeing option was right back into the battle._

"_WAIT! JUST STOP!" Ninos pleaded, turning back around and trying to call up a shield. Scarlet did not slow her pace. "WAIT, PLEASE!"_

_Despite lacking all his usual gear, Ninos managed to call upon the Light anyway. It just wasn't strong enough; Scarlet tore right through the shield and immediately pounced, a deadly mass of teeth and claws and even worse intentions._

_Ninos was never quite sure, but he could have sworn, as the dinosaur was plowing into him, that he heard the orc called Dakhuna laughing.

* * *

_

Dalaran was always quiet in the mornings, the calm before the storms of the day. One thing that had always impressed Ninos: despite the fact that the city was located above a frozen semi-wasteland of a continent, its streets and buildings were never anything but warm.

It certainly made morning calisthenics easier.

"To… be… strong in the Light…" Ninos hissed, still dressed in the pants he'd gone to sleep in. He had slept well, faint cruel dreams aside, and after waking up and relieving himself, he'd immediately begun his morning routine. At the moment, he was partially crouched down and partially leaning against the wall with one hand, his other hand snaked behind him and pressed against his back. He leaned in towards the wall before pushing himself back out, and with one quick motion he switched arms, snapping the other one out to brace against the wall as he brought the other one back behind himself. "Is to be… strong in all things…"

Another rapid switch, as Ninos repeatedly leaned in against the wall, a unique kind of pushup.

"The Light wishes us… to be strong. One must… try and be strong… in the ways the Light favors you…" Ninos said, sweat dripping off his face. "To be strong in body… is to be able to be strong in mind, heart, and soul. To fully give thanks… for the blessings of the Light… one must… put oneself… to the test…"

Ninos did the wall-exercise for another five minutes before stopping. He did a few stretches to loosen up some more, and then moved over to a pair of wooden extensions he'd placed on the wall of his room. Gripping them with his hands, Ninos hoisted himself up, tucked his legs up behind him, and began lowering himself up and down on the protrusions. This particular exercise only lasted a minute before Ninos touched down, panting.

"And tests… must be constant… in their occurrence… and their difficulty…" Ninos said, before drinking some water and picking up a chair. Moving over to his bed, Ninos put his back to it and lifted his right leg, placing it at a rough ninety degree angle by hooking his foot on the bed behind him. Firmly planting his other foot on the ground, Ninos picked up the chair and began kneeling down on his other leg, doing this for three minutes before he switched legs. After another few minutes, he put the chair down and sat on it, more perspiration running down his face and chest.

"… The Light frowns… on all attempted… subversions of its desires…" Ninos said, and then moved to the doorway of his small toiletry area, where he'd placed a metal rod. Grabbing it, Ninos hoisted his legs up and hooked them over the bar, before leaning down, putting his hands behind his head.

"And whatever pain you seek to avoid in your lacking efforts will likely find you in worse circumstances. So test yourself for the Light, and the Light will be there when you are tested."

Ninos pulled himself back up, trying to bring his head as close to his knees as he could before he lowered himself back down. A few more minutes of this exercise finally saw Ninos collapse down at the doorway, groaning a bit.

"… Amen," Ninos whispered. Some days, he envied the paladins and warriors he'd seen train more than usual. They could do exercises like this for hours straight; Ninos was lucky if he could muster twenty minutes.

_You're not a monkey, child; you should stop acting like one._

"Sorry, Father… but this just struck me as the best way… Forgive me…" Ninos murmured at the memory. Sliding back to his feet, Ninos drank some more water before heading to clean himself off, trying not to think of earlier days and the ways his teachers had disapproved of them.

_But weren't those days better, in a way? Weren't you…__free then?_

"Maybe," Ninos said, rubbing soap onto his body. Hygiene wasn't exactly a top concern among many of the adventurers and heroes of Azeroth, but Dalaran prided itself on being among the most advanced cities on Azeroth in all aspects, as well as the "advance" against Arthas and the Scourge. That meant that most of the inn rooms had access to a washroom that provided more then the ability to deal with bodily functions (as well as the other areas, such as the communal baths/showers that Ninos knew of and had… "partaken in"). How many people (besides blood elves, but that was an old joke) used them, Ninos didn't know or care. He kept himself clean, and as for other adventurers… he'd spent enough time 'in the business' to ignore everything but the most virulent of odors that they could emit from their persons. "But freedom's a lot of things. Sometimes… it means giving up things. The irony is not lost."

The memories quieted at that; they went away fully after Ninos dried himself off and began dressing himself. His clothing did not seem to have shrunk from the air-drying they'd gone through that night, another small blessing. Ninos settled his priest robes onto himself and brought the sigil of his church to his lips before slipping it into a pocket. In these garments, he had to be more than Ninos Silverstream, and more than the "old days." He'd been given a gift, and it demanded a certain respect.

It was also how he made his living, even if Ninos had never found any appeal in that. This lack of appeal was especially strong today, with the fact that Ninos had pissed off three Forsaken rogues who likely had not decided to let bygones be bygones.

Sitting on his bed, Ninos felt deep apprehension crawl through his veins at the remembrance. Dalaran was neutral ground, and this was enforced by strong magics and constant patrols. Anyone who attempted to fight or kill someone in the city proper would supposedly be stopped before they got anywhere… but then again, if that was the case, Ninos would have never endured the lovely chase he'd gone through the previous night. Brewfest might have had something to do with it, but the greater truth was that nothing was perfect. When it came to Forsaken rogues who were clearly nasty pieces of work and had very high odds of holding a grudge, the lack of perfection was even clearer.

Part of Ninos just wanted to stay in his room. He was safer there than on the streets. But he couldn't make any money in his room. And he needed money. He wasn't exactly broke, but his circumstances hadn't exactly blessed him with an abundance of funds. Besides, with a general sense that the noose had been crafted, knotted, and would soon start to be tightened around the Lich King's neck, there was a lot of potential money to be made out there. If Ninos was lucky (and he was due for some of that), he could make enough to head back to Azeroth and retire in a small, quiet corner of it, maybe take up as a village doctor. Surely having played a small role in stopping the Scourge would be enough…

… After all, _something _would have to be enough, eventually. Right?

Still, if he went out looking for work, he risked exposing himself. Worse, at this hour, while some might say he'd have a plum pick of jobs, to Ninos it meant a higher likelihood of being faced with jobs he'd have to do solo. Working on his own never went well for Ninos, and it wasn't due to freak accidents like the ones he'd had last night. No…

Another voice, another memory, began rearing its ugly head, but unlike the last one, Ninos immediately forced it down. Bringing his left hand to his right, Ninos slowly turned the ring on his finger a few times, drawing a tiny measure of comfort from the motion.

"The Light embraces and guides… it shows you the path… you merely must recognize it…" Ninos murmured to himself. A second afterward, something clicked into his brain. "… Well, it's definitely better than sitting around my room." Ninos got up and walked over to the small trunk each room had for the occupant's clothing. Opening his with a key, Ninos pulled out the white and black tabard, its golden eye-like sun faintly reflecting his face. "After all, I doubt Fordring has much time for that."

* * *

Kaileni didn't even notice dawn had come. She'd already been up for over an hour, her gun scattered in pieces on the table in front of her. She'd finally wrapped up on the cleaning, oiling, and polishing, and had eaten her away through four snow plums as she worked.

"De ol' big-headed general, he saw himself as tough…" the troll hummed to herself, beginning to snap the firearm back together, piece by piece. "He t'ought he'd gotten away from it all… but he di't get far enough… now dat brain he prized so dearly…" Kaileni twirled a long, thin bullet around her two primary fingers. "Now on de wall in fluff… bleh, dis sounds better in Zandali!"

Locking her main sight back on, Kaileni peered down the rifle before producing a ruler and a small metal tool, taking a few swift measurements. That done, she altered the sight's position, ever so slightly, and looked down her rifle again.

"Dere we go," Kaileni said, shoving the last of the snow plum into her mouth. Turning to the bag of the fruits she'd been eating from, the huntress selected another and placed it on the table, leaning over and pulling up a simple bow along with several well-worn arrows. She plucked the string, inspected the arrowheads, and checked the weight balance on the arrows, finding them satisfactory.

She was up on her feet faster than most eyes could have followed, snatching up and hurling the snow plum into the air before grabbing up her bow, nocking an arrow, and letting it fly. The projectile pierced into the soft flesh of the fruit, pinning it to a small wooden target across the room, right on the bull's-eye.

"Heh. Maybe shoulda bar-crawled for an audience… den again, one time slipping on upchuck be enough," Kaileni said. She shot a few more arrows at her target before she felt satisfied, striding over and plucking the arrows free. Putting her practice bow away, Kaileni debated firing a few shots on her crossbow, then decided it could wait until tomorrow. The raw energy of the day had begun coiling up inside her, crying out to be used. Besides, she always thought better after a good day of effort, and it was pretty clear from the last few days that she had to do some thinking.

"Hmmm, what to do… Tournament still plenty busy despite bein' over. Strange dat, but money's money… maybe go see if the Hodirs still askin' for aid? You'd t'ink dat frozen guy be full already…" Kaileni mused, strapping on her armor. "I hope Grolg not have anudda hangover, I don't really feel like deal'n with dat today…"

* * *

The streets were too quiet, or maybe Ninos was just too sensitive. Whichever was the case, crossing the street from the inn to the main flight deck seemed longer than the initial trek Ninos had undertaken to get from Howling Fjord to Dalaran. In the end, all Ninos saw was a female draenei, leaning against a wall, partly reading a scroll and partly yelling through the door she was next to. From what Ninos could overhear, they were some kind of instructions. Ninos passed by without giving the woman and the giant axe she had next to her a second glance, and the draenei did not spare Ninos one herself.

"Where to?" Aludane Whitecloud asked as Ninos approached a few minutes later. He'd made it without incident. It didn't calm his nerves as much as he would have liked.

"The Argent Vanguard, please," Ninos said, handing the high elf a few coins.

"Do you wish to leave a message for any companions that will be coming along after you to your destination?"

"That won't be necessary, no," Ninos said. Whitecloud gestured for one of the gryphons to be brought over.

"One question, flight master?"

"Yes?"

"This gryphon, it's not due to retire tomorrow or anything like that, right?"

"What? What in all the lands are you talking about?"

"… Nothing," Ninos said, getting onto the gryphon. "Nothing at all."

* * *

"And so I said, 'Broker?' Damn near split her in half!" Aedanas Sunstreak said.

"You disgustin', blood elf," Kaileni said, trying to cuff her fellow hunter across the ear. The elf dodged with nimble grace, wagging a finger. Kaileni responded with a grin that emphasized her tusks and made it clear that she'd have no problem relieving Aedanas of his mocking appendage.

"Will you please act your ages and not your boot sizes?" Jepala Falcontooth said, the tauren druid lightly stepping around some spilled trash that hadn't gotten around to being cleaned up yet.

"If Kaileni acted her foot size, she'd probably crumble to dust," Aedanas said. This time, the troll succeeded in cuffing him on the head. "Ow! Okay, probably deserved that one."

"So how's Rifur, Jepala?" the troll asked her companion.

"Oh, he's fine. Sometimes I think he pays more attention to the Earthen Ring than me… but I live with it. How about you, Kaileni? Find anyone special yet?"

It was fortunate for the troll that neither of her friends were paying attention to her face, or the very brief storm of confusion that passed over it.

"Oh, no time. Besides, so many fish in da sea here. BIG, BIG fish!"

"Now who's crude?" Aedanas said.

"You just jealous," Kaileni said, and neatly dodged the blood elf's own attempt to smack her…

Which caused her to walk directly into the human mage in front of her.

"Ack!"

"Geei! Sorry, miss, I was distracted," the blue-haired human said.

"What? Oh, no problem. So was I," Kaileni said, moving around the human and continuing on. Her companions were a little slower, apparently having expected a different result than that. The mage, it seemed, had also had different expectations, because he turned his head to watch the trio head on before resuming his own journey. A draenei female popped out of a side street and joined up with him as he did.

"That was rather restrained of you, Kaileni," Jepala said.

"Oh, human men… more trouble den it worth dealin' with dem," Kaileni said, running a hand through her hair. "Waste of a bullet… which remind me…" She ducked into a nearby store before her two friends could react. "Hey! You!"

"Yes, miss?" the gnome clerk said.

"I ordered ammo from you four days ago! It's already a day late!"

"Oh yes, I remember your order! Hold on one moment…" the gnome said, ducking behind the counter, eventually coming up with a large box. "Here you are!"

"'Bout time."

"That will be one hundred fifty gold please!"

"WHAT?" Kaileni yelled so loud that her friends could hear her outside the store. "THE DEAL WAS FOR NINETY!"

"Sorry miss, but between this effort, that effort, and, well, lack of effort in some cases, materials are rarer and more expensive. So the price went up. It's also why it got delayed. One hundred fifty gold please."

Kaileni glared.

"Your gun can't work without ammo, I remind you! One hundred fifty gold please!"

Kaileni glared a bit more, before reaching for her money purse.

Which turned out to be a feint, her hand immediately shooting out and gripping the gnome's head like a basketball, lifting him up off the stool with a loud squawk. "Let's NEGOTIATE."

"AH, NO! PLEASE! AH! EEK! OH! WAIT I NEED THAT! ACK! HELP! AIYEEEE…!"

"If she gets us arrested by the Kirin Tor, I'm selling you for puffweed," Aedanas said.

"Vice versa, pretty boy," Jepala replied. After another fifteen seconds of racket, Kaileni emerged from the store, the box of ammo slung under her arm.

"Got myself a discount," Kaileni said. "My next task is to figure out how to make my gun work without ammo."

"Yes, maybe after we finally get out of here. Or… just get going in general, maybe? You know? While we're still young?" Aedanas said.

"Relax, Aedanas. We still gotta get Scarlet and whatever weird thing you tamed in the Basin this week. Also Grolg, if he isn't sick as a dog again."

"I would just like to get moving."

"What's the rush?" Kaileni said, playfully tossing an arm around the blood elf and drawing him in close with a grip that was part-hug and part-headlock. "The day is young! And it looks to be a good day!"

* * *

The Argent Vanguard had seen some of the fiercest fighting in all of the wars across Northrend, the holy warriors of the Argent Crusade having paid dearly for every single inch of land they'd gained into Icecrown.

That day, it seemed like the Scourge had grown tired of their advances and decided to take it all back.

The entire Valley of Echoes was one giant mass of battle and destruction, as the Crusade locked blades, horns, and most everything else with Scourge. The only real good thing was an apparent lack of air support on the Scourge's part, which let Ninos get a nice, long look at the carnage playing out before him, even as the gryphon struggled against its survival instincts to land at its destination.

Ninos was as surprised as anyone when he got off the gryphon when it landed, instead of just kicking the winged beast in the side and flying right back to Dalaran. He was vaguely aware of someone running up to his side and yelling at him, but for the time being, all Ninos could see was the war he'd dropped down into.

Perhaps staying in his room would have been the better choice after all.

"… This is going to be a bad day."

* * *

_**Now a brief word from the editor, and those of you who skipped the author's note at the beginning are probably terribly confused by now.**_

_**Greetings, readers. Before the chapter wraps up, I wanted to take a moment to ask you a question. Specifically, what is your opinion of the editing I've done? Do you hate and revile me for the terrible atrocities I've inflicted upon your beloved story? Do you think the alterations I made, all small when compared to the original chapter, still combine to make a writing style unfamiliar and less enjoyable to you?**_

_**Telling me what you think in your review will ensure that the job I do in later chapters is more to your liking. Or, if you're enamored with the sudden shift to proper English (**__hey…__**)**__, __**you can tell me that too: depending on whether or not you're all in support of the idea, the author and I may go back and retroactively edit Cold Comfort Castle. Yes, all thirty-four chapters. Yes, I'm that insane.**_


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